Framework of the Cage
by ScuttlingFish
Summary: Beacon Academy raises students who will eventually become some of the strongest warriors on the planet. Four girls have chosen to attend the Academy, each with a reason of their own. Despite their differences they will have to work together to unravel the mystery of the cage they're trapped in, all the while the darkness of the world continues to encroach on the light.
1. Beginnings

"Onee-chan!"

"Onee-chan wake up! You're going to be late!"

"Dunwanna…"

"Oneeeee-chan!" At this, Kyoko allowed her eyes to open as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"Late? For what? It's not like I've got anything goin-" The redhead's eyes shot open and she threw her blanket into the air, leaping out of bed.

"The airship!" Kyoko took a valiant stance, holding the pose for a moment until the sound of light giggling filled the air, steadily maturing into laughter. The source of the offending sound refused to wither under Kyoko's glare, standing dutifully by her bed in the same position she used to wake Kyoko from her slumber. Kyoko's glare wilted before disintegrating, and the sisters lost themselves in a chorus of laughter.

"I'm going to miss you, Onee-chan." Momo walked around the bed, embracing her older sister.

"I'll probably miss you too, lil-sis." Kyoko winked at her sister, the younger girl giggling once more.

"You head on out and go make sure mom and dad are awake while your big sister gets changed. Knowing your old man he's probably all tuckered out from planning another one of his sermons." Kyoko stepped back as her sister skipped towards the door. Momo hung in the entrance a moment longer, giving Kyoko another smile before moving on to wake up their parents.

 _"So today's the day it starts, huh?"_ The redhead slid the door closed slowly as she lost herself in thought. _"This almost doesn't feel real. Imagine me, Kyoko Sakura, heading to Beacon Academy! I'm gonna be one of the best huntresses that ever lived! I may not be able to preach a sermon like dad, but I can swing a spear better than anyone. Just watch the Grimm try and mess with this."_ Kyoko grinned as she swept up her spear up from its' mantle on the wall, cutting down an invisible Beowulf before spinning it through the air and slamming it down at her feet.

"Kyoko! Breakfast is ready! Are you coming?" Kyoko jumped, almost dropping the spear as she was yanked out from her reverie. Groaning, she then smiled and reached for the clothing that comprised her battle uniform. "Yeah mom, I'm just getting dressed!"

She pulled on her pink skirt before sliding on a dark top. Over her shirt and skirt went a red dress that opened diagonally at the midriff, displaying both the bottom of the shirt underneath and the skirt below. The white truffles that outlined the split weren't something people usually expected from Kyoko. If she were honest with herself, at first it wasn't something she was happy with either. But her sister had insisted, and she grew to like the look. Besides, it was always satisfying to smash down an opponent who tried to make fun of the spear wielding warrior. The frills even matched her fighting style; they were both something others didn't expect.

Dark buccaneers and red boots finished off the uniform. Kyoko then grabbed the red eye shaped gem she always carried with her, placing it just below the neck. It fit snugly in a small cut in her uniform. She retrieved suitcase that held the rest of her clothing and lugged it out into the hall. A conglomeration of smells wafted down the hall, the aroma practically singing to the redhead's soul.

"What's cookin'?" Kyoko asked as she stepped through the kitchen.

"Your favorite. We know how much you love omelets, and today's the last day we're going to be able to spend with our baby girl..." Kyoko's mom cooed as she pulled the protesting girl into an embrace.

"I'm not a baby anymore, mom." Kyoko groused, but she allowed her mother to dote over her anyway. It was the last day the two would see each for a while, after all.

"Your father and I are very proud of you, you know. Our little baby is going off to fight the dangerous monsters!" The woman laughed as she released her daughter and returned to the stove. She knew that kind of talk embarrassed her daughter, which of course meant she spoke that way constantly. "You're going to have some much fun up at Beacon. I'm sure you'll make a lot of friends."

Kyoko grimaced for a moment before seating herself alongside her sister. The two locked eyes for a moment, Momo looking as if she had something to say.

"Blessed be those who thirst and hunger for righteousness!" Kyoko's dad sent her a pointed look as he entered the kitchen, seating himself alongside his daughters.

"Morning dad." The sisters said in unison. Kyoko gave her father an exaggerated eye-roll, though she smiled at the implication that she was a defender of righteousness.

"You stayed up all night writing another sermon, didn't you?" Kyoko teased.

Her father gave a hearty laugh. "For once that's not the reason why I'm so tired. I wouldn't dare miss being fully awake when I'm seeing off my daughter. Speaking of which, when are we seeing you off?"

"Geez dad, I thought you adults were supposed to know this stuff." Kyoko stuck her tongue out at the man.

"Keep that kind of sass up and I'll have to break out the soap." Kyoko blanched and the two chuckled.

"You know, it will be half a day's journey followed by a layover until the next flight. You're going to be on your own for the next two days."

"Dad, I'm going to be going to a school where each day is a life or death battle, and that's what you're worried about?"

"This is just the first time you're going to be off on your own like this. As your father it's my job to be worried."

"Don't worry Dad, I'll be fine." Kyoko embraced her father and the man held tightly.

* * *

"Beacon… Academy? Me?" The unsure question came out at barely above a whisper. The girl's eyes were barely visible from behind her red glasses as she looked down at the ground.

"Yes, Miss Akemi. We... no, I would like you to consider enrolling. You possess what can only be referred to as 'extraordinary ability.' I've never seen a semblance quite like yours." The man who had introduced himself as Professor Ozpin replied calmly. He folded his hands as he examined her, though the results of his observations didn't show on his face.

"I'm not that special, Professor. I can't run or jump or swim anywhere near as well as other girls my age can."

"And I am unable to fly a bullhead, build a robot, and am completely incapable of teaching any group people about the laws of thermodynamics. If all we ever do is focus on our shortcomings, how can we ever become strong?" Homura raised her purple eyes to meet with Ozpin's gray ones. "Everything you mentioned can be fixed with time. So long as you're willing to give it a try, we will be willing to teach you."

"B-but... won't I just drag my team down? I don't know how to use my ability. I don't even know how to fight _without_ my ability. I'd just get in the way." Homura looked down dejectedly once more.

The sight of Ozpin nodding on the edge of her vision, accompanied by the sound of clicking heels, caused Homura to look back up. "Alright then Miss Akemi. There is something I must attend to momentarily. Why don't we continue this in a few minutes? You can go and grab some fresh air while you wait."

"O-okay…" Homura clutched the hem of her skirt as Ozpin left the office. She didn't want to get in the way, but she didn't want to let Professor Ozpin down either. The man had done so much for her already. She walked over to the window, placing one hand on the glass and looking out over the city below. They were on the third floor of a hospital, borrowing one of the offices for their meeting.

 _"But how could I go straight into Beacon? I haven't even attended any of the other combat schools. There's no way I could even pass initiation."_

"Hi there!" Homura was startled from her despair by the pleasant sounding voice. She turned to see a pink haired girl clad in what appeared to be a school uniform. She wore a white blouse with a red bow below the base of her neck. All of this topped off a black and white plaid skirt, long white stockings, and short brown shoes. She held her hands behind her back as she looked on bashfully.

"H-h-hello." Homura's hand unconsciously drifted to cover the diamond shaped dark purple gem on her land hand.

"I couldn't help but notice you standing there when I walked by, so I figured I'd come say hello." The pink haired girl smiled. "You looked so sad standing there all alone. What's your name?"

Homura stared for a moment before answering. "Homura Akemi."

"It's nice to meet you Homura. I'm Madoka Kaname. It's a nice day out today, isn't it?" The pink haired girl's smile never left her face even as she made her way to stand next to Homura. Homura opened her mouth for a moment before closing it.

"What's wrong? Did I say something to offend you?"

"N-no!" Homura's hand shot out in front of her. "I d-didn't mean it... like that. I, uh, I... just… I don't... get called by my first name a lot…"

"What? Why not? Your first name is awesome, Homura! It means flame, like you flare up passionately or something! I think it's cool."

"I… I'm not really like that though." Homura's reply was quiet.

"What?" Madoka cried with disbelief. "How can you say that? If you have an awesome name, then you have to make it your mission to be just as cool!"

Homura looked down, a pink blush tinting her cheeks.

"You know, I'm going to Beacon Academy this year. I'm going to be a huntress in training." Homura's eyes widened at Madoka's admission.

"The truth is, I'm a little nervous though. Well, more than just a little." The girl laughed again, turning to stare out the window. She clasped her hands together. "It's going to be really dangerous and really scary."

"I can use my bow well enough to enter the Academy, and I've even fought the Grimm before. But there's so much I don't know how to do. There's still so much I have to learn." She turned back towards Homura, voice filled with resolve.

"But I can't back down just because of what might happen. If I did that, how could I expect other people to put their lives on the line for me? Even if I do screw things up a lot, I can't just stop trying. Even if things do get bad or scary, I guess I'll just have to rely on my friends to help me out." Madoka paused and thought for a moment.

"Just like you are right now, Homura."

"W-what?!" The dark haired girl paused, the information coming in too rapidly.

"Believe it or not, just talking with you like this has really helped me. I've been able to organize my thoughts, and I feel more confident in my ability to face this." Madoka smiled at her again. Homura guessed that she spent a lot of time smiling. Yet the girl hadn't even noticed when Madoka's smile left her face.

"Thank you, Homura." Madoka locked eyes with the girl, and in that moment Homura had no doubt of the sincerity they held.

"I know it's strange since we've just met, but I hope I can count you as a friend." It was Homura's turn to smile at the sentiment once more, the blush returning to her cheeks. "Y-yeah."

"Ah, look at me; I've been talking about myself this entire time. I didn't even ask about you."

When Professor Ozpin returned to his office he found the raven haired girl sitting down, hands folded in her lap and a faint blush on her cheeks. She was alone.

"Miss Akemi, have you given any thought towards your decision?"

"I…"

 _"Hi there!"_

"I…" Homura looked down at her hands in her lap.

 _"If you have an awesome name, then you have to make it your mission to be just as cool!"_

"I think…"

 _"The truth is, I'm a little nervous."_

 _"I guess I'll just have to rely on my friends to help me out."_

 _"I know it's strange since we've just met, but I hope I can count you as a friend."_

Homura looked up, locking eyes with Ozpin with a ferocity that raised a look of astonishment to his face. "I wish to become a huntress-in-training!"

With a sense of resolution that she hadn't thought herself capable of possessing, she continued. "I want to attend Beacon Academy, and I wish to learn how to fight for myself and for others. I want to become strong! I don't want to be weak anymore!"

She stood there, panting after the outburst. Her social anxiety hadn't disappeared, and it was rearing its ugly head after that outburst. She reached out to grab onto an armrest, unaware of when in the conversation she had even risen at all. She was too shocked at the outburst herself to feel embarrassed or ashamed.

"Is this truly what you want?"

"Yes!" She breathed, slumping back down into the chair.

"Miss Akemi." Professor Ozpin extended his hand. Homura examined it for a second before meeting it with her own. "Welcome to Beacon Academy."

* * *

The last disc exploded in a shower of clay, littering orange chunks across the open field. The sun lowered itself towards the horizon as a lone girl walked amongst the remnants of the multitude of discs.

The blonde twirled her rifle once before dissipating it completely. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply for a moment, before opening them and smiling at the setting sun.

 _"Tomorrow I leave for Beacon Academy... who knows what I'll find there."_ The blonde girl closed her eyes and let her mind drift back through her memories.

 _"Beacon Academy? What's that?" Eight years ago a much younger version of the girl sat on on a wooden stool at a small wooden table. She was attempting to delicately slice her meal, obviously not used to the procedure. Across from her was a large man with rippling muscles that were easily visible even through his dark coat. Any distinctive features he might have had were overshadowed by the large scar running from the back of his head all the way over to the left side of his face. Much of the skin had not healed properly and the left ear was missing entirely. To anybody else the man might have been intimidating. To the small girl he might as well have been a giant teddy bear._

 _"It's a place where they train some of the strongest warriors on this planet. There anybody who's tough enough can learn how to become a hunter or a huntress." The man tried to keep his voice gruff and stern, but before the wonder of the little girl in front of him he found he couldn't hold the expression. "You could go there, if you wanted."_

 _"Really? But I read that proper ladies shouldn't fight!" The man let out a hearty laugh at the girl's protest._

 _"And proper ladies are supposed to eat their vegetables too, aren't they?" The girl pouted, eliciting another chuckle from the man. "Mami, if you want to fight as a lady you can. You can always have a cup of tea afterwards. Some of the most powerful hunters I've ever met were huntresses. And while your mother never learned how to fight, we both know she fought at the very end."_

 _Mami looked down at her hands, food now forgotten. The man sighed as he got up and moved to place a hand on her shoulder. He knelt down so he was eye level with her, though she refused to make eye contact. "Mami Tomoe. Your mother died protecting a lot of people. I've made it my mission to protect people as well. We do what we do because we believe that protecting the lives of others are important. Your mother may be gone, but she was happy in the end. Never forget that."_

That was as much as she could make out of that particular memory. It was one of the few that stuck with her over the years. It was one she would never forget. Even now as her mind was dragged back to the present she found she still held the words close to her heart.

" _Protecting others…? Alright. If it's for you, I'll do my best."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** There it is. This is the first chapter of my Madoka Magica - RWBY crossover. Any type of feedback, writing style suggestions, and criticism as harsh as you can get it is welcome. I'm the type who is constantly trying to improve. There is a lot I want to accomplish with this story, however I currently don't have the skill to do so. That's where you all come in. Don't bother holding back, I can take whatever you guys dish out. I'm even open to suggestions onto where to take the story, though I have the overall structure set up. However unlike most stories I don't consider the ending nearly as important as the character development throughout and the themes I'm trying to explore. So as a result I'll be open to changes.

On another note, if anybody is interested I could use a prereader or a beta reader. Not even somebody to edit my drafts. I just want somebody to look over what I have and give some feedback/suggestions before I expose it to the world in all its glory. I appreciate any help you guys can provide!

Reviews would be appreciated, those really help! Hope you all enjoy!


	2. Arrival

If there was one thing Kyoko never wanted to experience again, it was flight. There was nothing wrong with soaring hundreds of meters above the ground. Spending an hour or two thousands of meters in the air with a good apple or six wasn't too bad. Spending only an hour in the air before being diverted to a nearby town for two days due to a nevermore sighting was the worst experience Kyoko had had all week. And the icing on the cake? Kyoko had actually managed to run out of food.

" _What kind of air service doesn't even sell shitty airline food?"_ Kyoko sighed as she leaned back against the wall. She sat on the ground, leaning against the wall though it was unnecessary. There were plenty of open spaces to sit around the cabin. But Kyoko didn't really care. When the lack of edible food product was combined with the fact that there were still two hours to go,

" _I'd like to make some friends but these guys are unapproachable. Between the Musclehead, Eyepatch, and Mohawk Man I'm startin' to feel a little out of place."_

The tall and broad shouldered man wearing a black tunic underneath of a silver and gold pauldron seemed to have hit it off with Mohawk Man. The two were talking about women in ways that made Kyoko wonder if she was being punked. The redhead had actually spent a moment looking around for the hidden cameras and crew.

Eyepatch referred to... the girl with the eyepatch. She wore a black overcoat that parted in the back, with a tall collar that was open in the front. Long white frills erupted from the sleeves, almost enveloping her hands completely. Underneath was a short skirt and shorts as well. White stockings and grey boots finished off the ensemble. The whole getup seemed impractical, but who was Kyoko to judge? Her combat dress wasn't exactly the most practical looking style on the street either. But looks could be, and often were deceiving.

Eyepatch –Kyoko had no plans to learn her name- also held something above her head. It was the first of a pair of four-pronged lengthy, curved claws. The sleek metal gave off a dark sheen.

" _Her weapon is just as impractical as her clothing. Who'd have guessed?"_ Kyoko sighed and settled back into her corner. Soon it would all be over and the airship would arrive at Beacon. They would land, settle in for the night, and prepare themselves for the morning's initiation.

Initiation. Information on the initiation ritual to Beacon was surprisingly elusive. The information provided in the packet alternated between being obvious and almost infuriatingly vague. All students intent on attending Beacon would have to undergo the ritual. There was a "not insignificant chance of death," whatever that was supposed to mean. And any student involved would require some sort of landing strategy in order to survive.

The only things missing from the information packets were what they were going to face, why there was a chance of death, and what constituted a landing strategy.

Kyoko already had a vague idea of how she was going to land. With aura reinforcing your actions, it was possible to accomplish anything. As long as she had her spear and something to grab onto there was no way she'd find herself dying on impact. She'd land in whatever area they were going to be deposited in, engage whatever enemies she was supposed to fight, and achieve whatever goal she was supposed to accomplish. It was a well thought out and infallible plan.

That's what Kyoko told herself as she nodded in satisfaction.

If she played her cards right she'd end up with a powerful partner, too. Partner assignments weren't supposed to be random. The packet those who had been accepted into the academy had been given detailed that much. Partner assignments were tied to initiation, or that's what Kyoko assumed.

The champion of Mistral was supposed to be in attendance this year. She was a spear user, like Kyoko. They both shared the special honor of being born redheads too. Maybe they coul-

"Arrgh matey! Have yeh seen mah claws?" Kyoko rolled her eyes.

" _Yeesh, come on girl. That impression was pretty poor."_

"Ow!" She slammed the brakes on that train of thought and looked back over at the girl, silently praying she was wrong even as the mocking laughter reached her ears. Eyepatch's pirate impression had sounded a little too deep for the girl. Or any girl, really. The sound of clattering metal and the sight of the eye-patched girl rubbing her face caused Kyoko to groan inwardly. The tall teenager standing next to Eyepatch twirling one of her weapons on his hand completed the picture. Musclehead and Mohawk Man stood around Eyepatch as she rubbed her eye. One had probably distracted her while the other came and pulled on the elastic of her eyepatch, before seizing one of the claws as well as the patch. The girl had fallen to the ground on her hands and knees, unwilling to get back up.

"C'mon you stupid ditz. Don't you know it's rude to ignore people when they ask you a question? We just asked why you wear such a stupid looking eyepatch. I mean are you supposed to be a pirate or a maid?"

"'Cause you're not doing a very good job at either!" Grating laugher accompanied Mohawk Man's jeers.

"Well, what's it gonna be? Are you going to stand up for yourself," The larger teengaer leaned down so their faces were on equal level. "Or am I keeping this? I mean this eyepatch isn't half bad. It'd make a good slingshot at least. "

Kyoko's eyes narrowed as she got to her feet. Before she even knew what she was doing her spear was in hand and she was marching over to the three teenagers. Never mind the fact that she was outnumbered and both boys were taller than her. Kyoko. Was. Pissed.

"Man, I'm sure you guys feel good about yourselves, gangin' up on a girl like her."

"What?" The large man turned to face Kyoko, looming over the girl menacingly.

"Geez, I don't know what kind of response I expected from a bricks for brains tin can." Kyoko smirked as the brown haired boy's visage morphed into a glare.

"You wanna say that again?" The armored man's fingers drifted towards the mace clipped to his belt.

" _That's more like it. Keep all your attention on me."_ If mental smirks were possible, one was plastered all over her brain _._

"Sorry, but I don't have the time or the crayons to explain all that to you. Back. Off." At this the bully took another step towards Kyoko. A scant few inches separated the two, yet Kyoko refused to back down. She met the threatening stare of the teenager with one equally as venomous. She hadn't expected to be able to rile the broad-shouldered jerk up so easily, but she wasn't going to start complaining.

The two were yanked from their stare-down when the door leading towards the front end of the airship opened and a stewardess walked out. Her gaze flitted around the room momentarily before focusing pointedly on the group of four.

"We will be arriving at Beacon within fifteen minutes. Gather your things and be ready to disembark." She smiled brightly. "If there are any problems back here, we'll be happy to take all those involved back to where they came from. You can always apply again next year."

"Tch." With a glare that suggested he'd stepped in something disgusting, the bruiser brushed past Kyoko, shoving the eyepatch into her hand as he did so. "C'mon, I don't want to waste any more time arguing with this trash."

Mohawk man followed, glowering in her direction as he passed. Kyoko scowled after them. She briefly locked eye contact with the stewardess, a look of understanding exchanging between the two. With a nod the woman left and Kyoko returned her attention to the girl at her side.

"That's a classic 'we haven't heard the last of them' if I've ever seen one." Kyoko instinctively grasped around for some form of food before frowning as she remembered her predicament.

"You alright?" She paused, then grinned and lowered a hand towards the fallen girl. Eyepatch looked back up at her and smiled gratefully. A moment later and the two were standing side by side, eyepatch firmly covering the girl's eye once again.

"What was that all about? Did those jerks really come over just to make fun of your eyepatch?" Kyoko almost grimaced but stopped herself. " _Smooth Kyoko. The least you could've done is asked for her name first."_

"I guess they thought being mean to me would be fun. They're just a bunch of bullies though." Kyoko raised an eyebrow at the bland and dismissive worse. It almost seemed like the girl really didn't care. Or she was used to it. Both lines of thinking sounded unpleasant to Kyoko.

"Why didn't you stand up for yourself? If I hadn't showed up who knows how far they'd have taken it. Of course now we both have to watch our backs after that." Kyoko glanced over her shoulder at the two males. They sat at the far end of the cabin, seemingly having completely forgotten about the two girls. Then the brown haired boy looked up suddenly, raising one of his fingers in an obscene gesture before returning to his conversation.

"Arguing with them would have been boring. They didn't have any sparkle."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean by that?" Kyoko's eyes scrunched in confusion.

"No sparkle. Not like her. They're not the reason I came here to Beacon." Kirika grinned wryly, as she wound her hands and made her way over to a seat.

The redhead eyed the girl warily for a moment. She shrugged, smiled and seated herself next to the girl. "You're a little odd, you know that?"

The black haired girl smiled back at Kyoko. "No, my name is Kirika, silly. Kirka Kure."

"Kyoko. Kyoko Sakura." Kyoko paused for a moment before continuing. "So you came here because of somebody who sparkles, huh?"

Kirika nodded and Kyoko continued. "Why don't you tell me about the 'sparkle' you're chasing after."

Kirika's enthusiastic nod reassured Kyoko that she had made the right choice.

* * *

Homura Akemi held her hands close to her chest as the crowd swarmed around her. Dozens of unfamiliar faces surged through the entryway. Homura's apprehensive frown only deepened as the crowd bumped and jostled her along down the unwelcome ride continued until thankfully, finally, they reached an open room with a stage and lone microphone setup. The crowd rapidly filtered out into the empty space.

Homura scanned the crowd as carefully as her eyes would let her. She hadn't managed to make any friends during the airship ride over. Even if she had were enough people occupying the room that she would have found it difficult to locate more than one of the six others who had arrived alongside her, let alone the pink haired girl that was the reason behind her presence at the academy.

Worse, even, Homura had always been short for her age, even among the other girls. She had… less than fond memories of being teased about her height by some of the meaner girls she'd been acquainted with. in school. The fact that she was one of the shortest in the room didn't escape her. One girl was close to her in height; she had black hair and red highlights. She wore a black and red dress along with a red cape.

Maybe Homura would talk to her once they were done here.

Yeah, right.

Homura gripped the edges of her skirt with both hands, closing her eyes in an attempt to stem the flow of negative thoughts. Inevitably, they surged past the mental barrier anyway. Her past failures in friendship making flitted behind her eyelids, taunting her before she tore her thoughts away from them. The man who had invited her to the academy walked up onto the stage. A stern looking blonde woman stood behind him.

"Ahem… I'll keep this brief." He cleared this throat.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge…" As Ozpin spoke, Homura felt her mind begin to wander. She had taken the first step, whether she was ready to or not. By agreeing to come to Beacon she had stepped farther out of her comfort zone than she ever had before.

" _I've come too far to turn back now. Besides, even if I did, what would she think?"_ A flash of pink brimming with energy streaked through the air, colliding with silky blue fabric waving in the win-

Homura's eyes shot open and she gasped, panting softly. She was looking down at her hands, both firmly planted on the ground in front of her. At some point she'd fallen to her knees. Mercifully, Professor Ozpin hadn't stopped his speech. Most of the students hadn't even seemed to notice her collapse. All except for the one whose hand rested on her upper left arm.

Her eyes rose cautiously, following the white clad arm up, past the well endowed chest until they rested on a pair of golden eyes.

"Are you feeling alright?" The blonde offered a hand and helped Homura to her feet. "You collapsed so suddenly, I was worried you weren't okay."

"I… I, uh, I'm… fine…" Homura glanced at the blonde's chest once more, before blushing and looking away.

"I'm glad you're alright." The blonde extended her hand again. Homura examined it for a moment before hesitantly extended her own forth to meet it.

"My name is Mami Tomoe. I'm hoping to become a huntress one day. Though I guess all of us are, otherwise we wouldn't be here." She paused, as if thinking for a moment. "But it's an essential part of me, so I think I'll keep that in my introduction."

The blonde raised a hand in front of mouth and giggled at the end of her statement. Homura would have smiled as she watched the girl self-deprecatingly laugh at her social gaff, if not for her heart beating faster than a stampede of rhinoceri. The girl looked at her expectantly. It was the raven haired girl's turn to pause, this time in confusion, before a jolt of realization passed through her.

"I-I... I'm... Homura Akemi."

"It's nice to meet you, Homura." The two girls turned their attention back towards the stage.

"... to take the first step." Professor Ozpin finished his statement. His eyes drifted across the crowd. They lingered on Homura for a moment, and she felt a shiver pass through her body. Then they continued onwards, finishing the scan. Ozpin nodded, taking a step back before ambling away with his cane. The woman stepped forward.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." The succinct follow up was over as quickly as it had begun. At this many of the students began to disperse. Many more still lingered, however.

"That was… odd. His eyes were distant… almost as if he was looking right through us." Mami's voice took on a strange tone. Mami's posture changed to one of contemplation. A hand touched her chin, and it seemed to Homura as if she were searching for an answer just off the tip of her tongue. "What did you think, Homura?"

* * *

Mami Tomoe lay on her back in her sleeping bag, listening to the sounds of hushed whispers, snoring students, and the low growl emitted from a teacher when a student asked to be escorted to the restroom.

Her new… acquaintance was already asleep. Mami observed the girl silently. She obviously dealt with self-esteem issues. She often second guessed herself and Mami couldn't find any trace of the strength that brought her into Beacon.

She looked peaceful, and even sweet as she lay there. The steady rise and fall of her chest as she breathed painted a tranquil picture. It was hard to imagine the petite girl tearing into a horde of Grimm with any weapon. Of course, looks could be, and often were deceiving. That was a lesson any fighter learned at some point in their lives. If Homura Akemi had made it into Beacon, it was because she was strong. There was no doubt about that.

Mami's mind drifted to the earlier conversation the two girls had shared.

 _That evening the potential students gathered in the nearly empty ballroom. A combination of sleeping bags, cots, and other nighttime apparatus littered the floor. Mami and Homura had nestled into one of the corners next to the line of windows. Moonlight filtered in through the glass, a nice touch if you asked Mami._

 _Not that Homura ever did.. Shyness and timidness weren't the rarest of traits. Somehow though, Homura managed to take it to the extreme. She seemed to second guess almost every action she was about to make, and had trouble putting herself out there._

 _So Mami decided she would extend the hand of friendship towards the soft spoken girl._

 _Homura currently was lying on her stomach, elbows planted in her pillow. A book lay off the edge of the cushion, holding the bespectacled girl's attention. Mami watched the girl for a moment, paused, and nodded to herself. She set aside the journal that was resting on her knees and opened her mouth to speak._

" _Initiation is tomorrow. It's supposed to be dangerous." Mami commented. She glanced over at Homura and smirked inwardly at the girl's apprehensive expression. "Maybe we'll have to fight a bunch of Grimm. I hear there might even be a deathstalker."_

" _D-deathstalker?" Homura squeaked at Mami's words._

" _Oh yes. They say that if you don't manage to defeat at least a deathstalker, you'll have to fight the others who didn't either. Only half the remaining students are even allowed to pass."_

" _W-what? F-fight each other?!" The fretful expression on Homura's face changed to one of annoyance in the face of Mami's giggling. It morphed into a visage of annoyance, and Homura 'harumphed before grabbing her pillow and tossing it at Mami._

 _Mami's giggling evolved into full blown laughter as Homura's face reddened. It only took a moment before Homura's resolve crumbled, and she found herself giggling as well._

" _I don't mean to tease you, but you make it so easy…" Mami managed to make out once the laughter began to subside. The teasing was light at best, but it seemed to lessen the raven haired girl's pre-initiation jitters._

 _The two remained quiet for a moment before Homura moved to speak. "Miss Tomoe, are you nervous about tomorrow?"_

" _Hmm…" Mami paused to consider how she would answer the question. There had to be a way to reassure Homura beyond just admitting that she was nervous as well. "Well… I don't think there's a person in this room who isn't nervous about tomorrow. All we can hope to do is try our best and succeed."_

 _Homura took a moment to ponder Mami's statement. "Miss Tomoe, I was wondering… Are you strong?"_

 _Mami knew she must have looked surprised at the question due to the worried expression that overtook Homura's face. "N-not that it matters if you aren't! I just…"_

 _Mami gave a knowing smile. If nothing else the girl was a breath of fresh air. "No, I understand. It's only natural to be nervous before something like this. I remember giving the same question to my guardian years ago."_

" _There are some people, who, once they see what I'm capable of, will call me strong. But that's something you should decide for yourself after you come to know me and see how I fight. Strength is a lot more than just physical ability." Mami paused apprehensively, seeming to consider her next words carefully. "I… don't think I'm all that strong. Not in the way that some people are here. Not on my own, anyway.I know it probably doesn't make much sense now, but maybe one day it will."_

 _Homura nodded silently._

" _Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I'll be going down easy in a fight. When it comes to battling other people, you'll find I'm one of the best." Mami hoped that last bit didn't sound conceited. She also hoped Homura wouldn't glean the wrong idea from her words. She couldn't afford to look uncool in front of a girl who could potentially be relying on her for support, after all. Although if Homura did get the wrong idea, Mami would have to be sure her first performance in front of her friend blew away any notion that she might be weak._

 _Speaking of fighting ability…_

" _You're not from one of the other combat academies, are you, Homura?"_

 _Homura looked mildly surprised at the blonde's assumption. "No. I was invited here personally.. by Professor Ozpin. I never learned how to fight though."_

 _The girl's cheeks reddened as Mami expression morphed, the approval most likely evident as she appraised the girl. "You were invited to Beacon by headmaster Ozpin?"_

 _Not a hint of skepticism seeped into Mami's voice. Homura would have no reason to lie about that, and it made a lot more sense than her coming through one of the academies. It even made more sense than the girl applying based on merit alone. She didn't seem to be the type to have becoming a huntress set as a life goal. Mami realized Homura was still waiting for the rest of her reaction. She rested a finger on her chin, before turning and grinning with a mischievous smile._

" _That means you must be really strong. I'll be looking forward to seeing what you can do, Homura." Homura's face had long since passed the point of resembling a tomato._

" _But i'm-"_

" _No buts. A lady should always act like she believes in herself, even if it's not true. You can't try to be strong if all you ever do is put yourself down. That's your first lesson as my first kohai."_

" _Kohai?"_

" _It's another word for student. If you'll have me, I'd like to teach you how to fight. Even if we don't end up on the same team, I'll do my best to help you out." Mami smiled again._

 _The raven haired girl looked down, seeming to consider her statement for a moment. Then she returned her gaze to Mami and nodded with a fierceness that raised Mami's impression of the quiet girl even further._

" _Now that that's settled," Mami's hand drifted down towards Homura's previously used projectile. "For your second lesson I'll teach you what happens when you throw pillows at your senpai."_

The ensuing battle ended up spreading beyond their tiny corner. Multiple students had been caught up in the chaos. Mami smiled as she recalled the unamused expression on the face of a magenta eyed boy as she and a hyperactive girl with orange hair double teamed him with pillows. Before the staff had finally broken up the fun before the mess got too large a pillow had exploded in Homura's face and covered her with feathers, courtesy of a cackling redhead with visible fangs. The short girl clumsily retaliated, breaking her own pillow on the face of the redhead, who looked laughed dumbfoundedly as she spat feathers from her mouth.

" _Looks like all she needed was a little push to open up a bit more. I think she'll make a good companion."_ Mami thought to herself. She watched the girl's peaceful slumber for a few more seconds. " _No… not companion… friend."_

Mami grinned in anticipation as she settled in to sleep. Tomorrow would be initiation. There she would get to see just what surprises her new friend had in store.

* * *

Author's Note: I realize I neglected to put this information at the end of the first chapter. Those of you who have read my profile already know of this. By the end of the month I'll be embarking on what will most likely be a _lengthy_ hiatus, barring unforeseen circumstances. I won't have much time to write at all, which is why I wanted to get out all of these swirling ideas in my head while I still had the chance.

That's the bad news. For what it's worth, there is a little bit of good news. I've got two more chapters all but complete. They need to be edited a bit due to a decision I was attempting to make, and I'll be giving my beta reader a go at them before I release them in their moderately filtered glory.

If you've got any questions and/or concerns about this story that don't belong in the context of a review, send me a PM. I'll be happy to answer even if is asking where I was planning on taking the story.

Thank you all for reading!


	3. Initiation

If there was one thing Kyoko envied, it was the girls who could rely on their semblances. That's what she thought when one of the battle-dress-cape-wearing wearing girls sped off to bathroom faster than the eye could track, anyway.

" _My aura was only recently unlocked, so it's not like I can expect to find my semblance so soon."_ Kyoko sighed as she gathered her things from her sleeping area. She'd spent the previous night laughing with Kirika. The girl was the strangest girl Kyoko had ever met.

She was single minded and childish in some of her mannerisms to say the least. The girl had been wandering around the ballroom when Kyoko encountered her for the second time last night. Presumably she'd been looking for the girl she came to Beacon to chase after.

Attending a school to chase after a girl? Kyoko wasn't exactly the queen of good ideas but she could spot a bad one when she saw it. Usually. As long as you never quoted her on that. Still, bad idea or not, there was no going back now for Kirika. Thus she'd abandoned the notion of calling her new friend out on it. If nothing else the dark haired girl was genuine in both her words and actions. And so she'd reached out to the strange loner and offered to help her find the one she'd been searching for.

This led to the two girls walking side by into the mess hall. Kirika was humming happily as she went. She was sure the girl would make a good partner. At the very least she wouldn't be the worst student to be paired with; that was an honor held by the boy she now knew as Cardin Winchester.

Kyoko shuddered inwardly. She'd sooner give up chocolate for a day than be paired with him. Maybe even a week.

 _"Speaking of food…"_ Both girls turned, grinned, and shouted together, "Pancakes!"

Kyoko salivated over the ever-expanding pile of food on her plate. She'd already heaped on enough pancakes that the workers had shouted at her to move on.

"What a bunch of grouches. We're supposed to be fighting the Grimm today, of course I'm gonna eat a lot. How lame can they possibly be?"

Kirika snickered at Kyoko's complaints. "I don't think you're supposed to eat _that_ much."

The two reached the end of the line and looked around for a spot to sit. Well, Kyoko did, anyway. Kirika was still searching for her mystery woman. However the girl still followed Kyoko when she moved to sit down.

"So," Kyoko began as she lifted a slice of pancake into her mouth, "Whaddaya think about the other students here? Anybody you want on your team?"

Kirika looked at her for a moment, expression seeming to ask 'Do you even have to ask?'

Kyoko rolled her eyes and the girl laughed. "Oh you know what I mean. Besides your imaginary friend."

The clattering of metal was Kyoko's first sign that something was wrong. Kirika hadn't bothered to recover her fork from where she dropped it on the table. She was staring into her pancakes, and Kyoko knew she had said something wrong.

"Imaginary?"

"W-whoa whoa wait a minute, I was just messin' with ya!" Kyoko held her hands up as she attempted to placate the girl. "I'm sure this girl is just as amazing as you make her sound, and completely not imaginary."

She hadn't meant to upset the girl. With the atmosphere having taken a nosedive Kyoko was determined to salvage the situation.

Kirika remained silent for a few more seconds, before her head shot up with a large smile plastered over it. "Alright then!"

Kyoko let out a sigh of relief.

"What was that about?" She muttered under her breath. She let out a gasp of surprise as Kirika leaned over the table and grasped her hands. The other girl's plate flipped and her pancakes spilled across the faces were close, almost uncomfortably so.

"Love is a virtue! My love for my savior burns hotter than the heat of a thousand suns. It could cross entire mountain ranges. Not even the threat of dying at the hands of the Grimm held me back from chasing after it!" Kirika had let go of her hands and was waving her own by the end of her declaration.

"My devotion for her knows no bounds. I know she'll come here. And when she does, I will belong to her." The confidence in her voice would have been impressive if not for the half eaten pancake dripping off her skirt. Kyoko's eyes narrowed at the sight.

The redhead digested this new side of Kirika with a critical eye as she sat down. Things were edging into the territory of being a little creepy. Okay, so they had passed "a little creepy" the second the girl stood up. However that wasn't what had caught Kyoko's ire.

"You are going to finish those, right?" The growl in Kyoko's voice allowed Kirika to pick up on the change in her demeanor. The girl looked slightly intimidated at the tone, but the intimidation quickly gave way to the rest of her emotions.

"My pancakes!" Kirika cried in a horror stricken tone, hands clutching her head. "How could this happen?"

The girl frantically grabbed at each and every one of the pancakes across the table, reassembling the stack on her plate. "Oh man, that was close."

She sat down happily and with a hum began eating once more. Kyoko observed her for a moment before allowing some of the emotion she'd managed to restrain seep out of her. _"Kirika isn't the only girl who had an unnatural obsession with something that other people wouldn't understand. I can't judge her just because she's in love with some girl."_

Still, if this was how her morning had started off, how much weirder could the day possibly get?

* * *

That was a question that Homura wanted to ask herself. Mami and Homura had been one of the last few students to wake up. With little time they hurried over to the mess hall and devoured their breakfast. Afterwards they all but sprinted over to the locker room to prepare for the rest of the day.

"Miss Tomoe, have you thought about who you would like to have on your team?" The question was to the older girl, who was in the midst of donning her battle outfit. It was far more impressive than Homura had originally imagined. Mami wore a white, short and puffed sleeved blouse underneath of a brown corset that stopped just below her chest. Where a zipper might have been was instead golden ribbons that tied up at her neck. White arm sleeves finished off her upper body. A flared skirt the same color as her hair was outlined in brown. Dark brown knee highs and boots on the feet and a stylish beret on the head completed the ensemble. The only word Homura could use to describe the outfit was refined.

"Wow! Miss Tomoe, you look amazing!" Mami blushed as she basked in the praise from her new protege. She took a step forward and spun as she held her hands above her head. She couldn't help but let a laugh escape her lips as Homura clapped in response.

"Thank you, Homura. Even though we're hunters and huntresses we can still look good when we go out to fight. ."

"But to answer your question, I would like somebody that I could rely on. Somebody like the redhead over there." Mami gestured a few lockers down, where a girl Homura vaguely recalled from a cereal box was standing. Beside her stood the heiress to the Schnee dust company, something Homura only knew due to her research into dust.

"Supposedly she's the champion of the Mistral Regional Tournament. She was crowned champion four times in a row."

Homura looked back over at the redhead with a greater sense of respect. Her white haired companion was now arguing with a blonde boy who had wandered over, presumably to flirt with one of the two. Or both. Homura felt her cheeks redden at the thought.

 _"Champion four times in a row? I don't think I'd be able to do anything like that."_ Homura frowned.

"If not her then I'd like to team up with the girl wearing the black bow. She seems like an acrobatic type melee fighter. Our styles would sync together pretty well."

" _Of course Miss Tomoe wouldn't want me for a teammate. I'd just end up dragging her down…"_

"There one other person I'd like to have on my team, though. Probably a lot more than all the others I've mentioned so far. I don't know how to describe her though." Mami tapped a finger to her chin as if searching for something on the tip of her tongue.

"She's not very strong, but I can tell she has a lot of potential. She's willing to learn which puts her a cut above a lot of the other students. She's not bossy or mean so we can work together no problem. She seems pretty reliable too, though we haven't fought together yet." With each word Homura's mood dove even further. She wasn't strong or fast or powerful.

"She's kind of short though, and really easy to tease." Mami continued.

 _"Of course she would- wait… wait.. no, there's no way…"_ Homura looked up at Mami suddenly to find the blonde grinning slyly at her out of the corner of her eye.

"Her hair separates down into two adorable braids. She wears red glasses and I'd really like to count her as one of my friends. She never told me if she has a nickname, so I just call her Homura."

Homura's jaw dropped in shock. She stood frozen, mouth opening in protest but no words were coming out. Finally she managed to force out more than just a squeak. "B-b-but i'm not strong! I'm not fast, I can't fight… and I'm not reliable at all… I'm worthless."

Mami seemed to consider the girl for the moment. Homura began to wonder if she'd driven her new friend away when the blonde finally spoke. "If you really felt that way then you wouldn't have come to Beacon Academy at all. If all you're ever going to be is weak, then you should leave now before things get rough."

Homura was unable to form a response so the blonde pressed on. "You won't know what you're capable of unless you try. A friend of mine once told me, 'If you try, you're likely to succeed.'"

Mami looked sorrowful after the last statement. Before Homura could ask the look was gone as quickly as it appeared, and she pressed on. "Nobody is ever born with the ability to fight off the Grimm and survive in this world. Strength is a result of people cultivating their talents as time goes on. Even if you think you're powerless now, so long as you desire to succeed and work towards that goal even somebody like you can become strong."

"B-but-" Homura began timidly.

"No buts." Mami closed her locker and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "For what it's worth, I believe in you. And everything I just said about you is true. I'm not a very good liar, after all."

"And if you only choose to remember one thing I say today, remember this: You really are a person I want to count among my friends."

 _"I know it's strange since we've just met, but I hope I can count you as a friend."_ Homura's eyes widened at the words. The reminder of what had given her the courage needed to accept Professor Ozpin's offer also gave her courage now. "Thank you, Miss Tomoe. I… I hope I can count you as a friend as well."

As she beamed, Homura found the smile occupying her face was genuine. Unfortunately for the duo, the squawking of the intercom cut through their time of bonding.

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff, immediately."

"I guess we should get going..." The disappointment in Homura's voice was evident. Before she could even take one step, Mami had moved to block her. She made eye contact with the girl.

"Homura, even if we don't end up the same team I would still like to remain your senpai. If you'll have me, that is."

"I think… I think I would like that very much."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me." Surprisingly to Homura, not a hint of insincerity had been laced with the statement.

"Let's get going, we don't want to be late for our first day." Mami took Homura's hand and together the two ran off towards the cliffside.

Upon arrival at the cliffs the two girls found themselves directed onto a line of metal plates. Most of the other students arrived within minutes of the duo. When Ozpin arrived, two metal plates remained open. Anybody wondering who the spaces were for didn't have to wonder for long. Beside the headmaster stood the stern blonde from the previous day, whom Homura had to know as Professor Goodwitch. What was even more interesting than the professor were the charges she had in tow.

Two girls followed the professors as they approached. That in itself was nothing special. There were a lot of girls in attendance this year. It was something Mami had offhandedly remarked the previous night. Homura blushed as she recalled the older girl's words as they rolled their eyes at the wrestling boys. The ones participating had obviously been trying to draw the attention of the girls. Girls like Mami or the other busty blonde in the room, anyway.

The first girl was nothing special either. Or maybe she was, but not to Homura. She was very well endowed, even when compared to the rest of the girls attending Beacon. She had ash-blonde hair and wore a long silver and white dress. Her eyes were- Homura felt a shiver run down her spine. They were green. Green eyes that held a sense of confidence- no- a sense of finality unlike anything Homura had ever seen. Whoever this girl was, she _knew_ exactly what her purpose in coming to Beacon was. She was somebody to be careful around. There was no doubt in Homura's mind about that.

If her mind had reeled at the sight of the first girl, then it cried for joy at the sight of the second. The flash of pink she had desperately searched for upon arrival at Beacon, and continued to hope to spot all throughout the night stood in front of her. She stood there in a pink and peach corset, a short white blouse, and a pink and white skirt. White gloves on both hands and red heels would have made Homura question the practicality of the uniform while fighting against Grimm if it wasn't for the fact that the girl wearing them smiled and waved upon seeing her.

For some reason Homura was finding it very hard to breath. She managed to let out a squeak, though her heart felt like it was going to explode as she forced her hand into as much of a wave as possible. It must've looked pretty pathetic. The girl shut her eyes, clenching the ends of her dress in embarrassment once the group walked by.

Madoka and the other girl took their positions on the last two empty spots as Professor Ozpin stepped forward to speak.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today your abilities will be evaluated within the Emerald Forest."

Homura's shoulders tensed up even further at the words. The Emerald Forest was home to some dangerous Grimm. A hand unconsciously moved to rest on her shield and she held it up closer to her chest.

"I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today."

The raven haired girl froze, all thoughts of her imminent death immediately vacating her mind in favor of the current topic of discussion.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time at Beacon. So it is in your best interests to be paired with someone with whom you can work with. "

 _"Teammates? Today? How am I going to find teammates?"_

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the next four years."

The color pink flashed through Homura's mind. The mere thought of the potential arrangement sent a fierce blush to her cheeks. She shut her eyes and shook her head profusely trying to rid herself of such a… ridiculous… notion.

After Ozpin finished his explanation, Homura felt the panel shift beneath her feet. It was almost imperceptible, yet the difference was there. The girl Homura only knew as the heir to the Schnee Empire went first, her launch devoid of any fanfare. Mohawk man went next, tossing up some sort of hand sign Homura knew nothing about as he went. Further down the line a green haired girl followed a grinning redhead that clutched an elongated golden spear.

Homura silently wished Mami luck as her senpai followed a blonde brawler type with gauntlets strapped to her wrists into the air. With a small pang of regret she didn't track the girl as she flew through the air. The next platform that launched held the only one she had eyes for.

Madoka entered the air with a small grin that exuded both excitement and nervous anticipation. Three launches later and the metal beneath the raven haired girl's feet shifted once more. She yelped as she entered the air, the world spinning as she attempted to reorient herself.

She reached her hand _into_ the shield that hung from her arm, the limb seemingly disappearing until Homura pulled out a tan backpack with a cord hanging loosely. Moments later the parachute was secured on her back and Homura scanned the sky, frantically searched for the pink haired warrior. She spotted a flash of pink dipping below the treetops before it disappeared. Gritting her teeth Homura did her best to rotate her body in said direction.

The steerable parachute erupted from the pack on her back and she pulled on one of the cords from the side, redirecting her descent path. angling her descent. As she floated above the forest canopy a tumbling mass whizzed by her, limbs flailing. A wailing screaming could be heard as it soared. A red and orange blur sped after it, presumably colliding with the mass as they both disappeared below the treeline.

Leaves and branches grew in size, and suddenly Homura found herself struggling to redirect her flight path once more. A cry of discontent followed by arms raised protectively in front of her face was all she could manage before she was swallowed by the wooden and leafy canopy. Branches and leaves snapped across her skin as she fell, until finally she was jerked to a stop. She hung limply in the air, suspended due to the cloth above her affixing itself to nearby branches.

Homura's shoulders sagged as she examined her predicament.

 _"I've already made a fool of myself and I haven't even touched the ground. This is humiliating…"_ One disappearing hand later and Homura produced a thin pocket knife from within her shield. It sliced through one of the restraints after some difficulty. Whether it was due to the blade itself or Homura's lack of skill didn't matter. Homura just wanted to reach the ground.

It was when she was halfway done sawing through the third strap that she heard it. A low growl emanating from the nearby vegetation. A set of red eyes was the first thing she could make it. The white skull that held the eyes and the multiple sets huddled behind the first was all it took to elicit another squeak from the girl. Her sawing became increasingly more frantic as she severed the third strap and moved onto the fourth and final strap. She cursed her decision to attach the last two, as they weren't strictly necessary for the operator to be secured in the parachute.

Another growl elicited yet another squeak, and the knife tumbled down to the ground before disappearing from sight. She screamed and the beowolves increased their rate of approach. She thrust her hand into her shield, grasping wildly at the void storage. Her palm closed around the first handle she could grab and out emerged a golf club.

Her already enlarged eyes widened even further. She swung wildly at the last strap that tethered her to the tree. One snap later and she screamed again as she fell the short distance to the ground. The breath was knocked from her lungs and the club experienced a similar separation from her hand.

Homura scowled to herself miserably. _"This…. is humiliating… And they have me surrounded…"_

Homura held out her shield and attempted to activate the mechanism embedded within. Her heart was pounding with such a force that an explosion almost seemed inevitable. Still, so long as she had her semblance a pack of beowolves shouldn't be able to touch her. The lone beowolf that had revealed itself and was stalking towards her would be finished, and even if she was terrified at least the fight would be over.

And it was still stalking.

 _"H-h-uh? My semblance! Where is it? My semblance!"_

The rest of the Beowolves stepped out of the foliage. Two… three… six…. seven.

The girl's heart felt as if it was about to burst from within her chest, a merciful way to go compared to in the jaws of the Grimm. The sound of someone hyperventilating surrounded her, making it difficult to think. It took her a moment to realize that that someone was her.

" _This is bad! I'll die out here… I'll really, really die! This was a mistake!"_ The girl stared at her hands as tears fell from her eyes, cursing her powerlessness.

" _Nobody would want to be on the team of someone like me…"_ Her shoulders sagged with the depressing thought. _"This… maybe this is what I deserve… maybe this is what happens to people like me. I'm worthless..."_

The Beowolves had her completely surrounded now, and they looked ready to pounce. She clenched her eyes shut in anticipation of the pain that would follow. As she did, a gold ribbon fluttered behind her eyelids. It waved there a moment before a voice sprang into her head.

" _You really are a person I want to count among my friends."_

The golden ribbon remained solitary until a pink bow materialized. It unraveled itself and intertwined itself with the floating golden ribbon.

" _I know it's strange since we've just met, but I hope I can count you as a friend."_ The second statement was enough to cause the girls eyes to reopen themselves again,

" _A friend…? Mami… she wanted me on her team… Madoka… I…."_ A snarl was issued forth into the air and the beasts began to charge.

" _I want…!"_

Homura's eyes narrowed in determination as she pulled herself off the ground, legs shaking. An arm reached for the golf club and she raised her shield forward. Engraved into the shield, the gears began to turn and the gem on her hand lit up.

* * *

Gunfire echoed across the forest. Snarls of Grimm could be heard in the distance as student encountered the wildlife of the area. Occasionally a few faint shouts and battle cries would ring out, but their tones did not suggest imminent injury or death.

" _The only thing left is the question of where to go."_ Mami had been fortunate enough to launch before Homura. Without knowing where the shorter girl would land, the blonde had no way of tracking down her friend. It was fortunate because while she really did like the girl, it wouldn't do her any good to have Mami as her partner. Homura needed to branch out, and the best way to do so would be if she was forced to make friends with and rely on another person. Whether they ended up on the same four man team or not, the two would always be friends. Mami had already resolved to make sure of that.

If meeting up with Homura was out of the question then she would have to find somebody else to partner with. Before she could begin to decide which of the previous sounds of battle to pursue another voice rang out. It was the sound of a girl beginning to charge, closer than all the others. She was probably making the first move in her battle. _"Either headstrong or confident. Not necessarily bad traits on their own… Hopefully you're the type that won't resent any help."_

With her mind made up, Mami reached a hand up and a ribbon extended out, wrapping itself around a nearby tree branch. She leapt into the air and rappelled down to the ground lightly, ribbon swirling through the air as she fell. She crouched, pausing, then took off towards the sound of the girl.

Tree trunks and bushes were a blur as Mami pushed herself forward. Arriving too late for a spectacular entrance wouldn't be very cool. As the sound of battle increased in volume it became clear that the conflict was just up ahead. Her theory was supported by the corpse of a beowolf soaring limply through the undergrowth and landing in front of her, flesh already beginning to evaporate.

Another wounded beowolf tumbled after its slain brother but this one seemed to be uninjured. It rolled to its feet and almost turned to rejoin the battle before sniffing the air. It turned to face Mami, eyes seemingly focusing on the almost pathetic looking blade strapped to her waist. It was a self defense item she expected to only use as a last resort. To the beowolf, which seemed to have lived long enough to learn from some mistakes, she must have looked like easy prey with such a small weapon. The beast leapt through the air, teeth bared and killing intent wafting freely. It seemed to almost salivate in anticipation of the kill, such tasty fleshy meat which was now pushing off its head and into the trees above. The beowolf might have turned to pursue the meal were it not for the now discarded knife jutting out from an eye socket. The corpse sailed along into the underbrush, but Mami paid it no mind.

Instead she landed gently on a branch above and surveyed the scene before her. A spear wielding redhead leapt back leapt back in the center of the clearing as one of the beasts lunged for her. With a quick dip forward and flick of her wrist the spearhead embedded itself in the neck of the beast before continuing on through and out the other side. She twisted, spinning to gain momentum in order to disembowel one of its companions.

 _"She can handle that spear pretty well."_ Mami evaluated candidly. She raised her skirt slightly on each side. Three intricately decorated muskets fell out from nowhere, balancing themselves without falling to the ground below. Mami grabbed a white stock from her right side where two rifles lay. She raised one and took careful aim just as a beowolf leapt into the air above the other student. Two other beowolves moved in across the ground. The monsters maintained enough sense in their suicidal rage to attack from multiple angles at once. Rather than risk having her spear become stuck in the flesh of her airborne assailant she charged the two groundborne beasts and prepared a wide sweeping attack.

The girl was clearly skilled. She probably didn't even need Mami's help. Even if she were to be attacked during the battle her aura would absorb the blow for minimal cost and the redhead would finish off the offender. The positive assessment of the girl's abilities settled it for Mami. She had no reason to think the girl was a bad person. Her visage, even when drenched in the emotions of battle, didn't look unfriendly in the slightest. This girl would be her partner.

 _"And what better way to introduce myself to my new partner than lending a little helping hand?"_ The bullet left the chamber and rocketed out towards the airborne creature. It flew through the air just as the girl's weapon split the skull of the first beowolf and moved onto the second. The projectile pierced its skull and buried itself deep within even as the redhead whirled around to end its life. Confusion shone in her eyes as the corpse sailed past her and she looked around for the source of the attack. Her eyes wandered for a moment before arriving at Mami.

"Who are you?" The girl loosely gripped her spear and eyed the blonde warily.

Mami smiled and leapt down from the branch, landing deftly. As she opened her mouth to reply, the sound of rumbling reached their ears.

"Another one? Geez how many of these guys can there be?" The girl sighed as she readied her spear, both of them turning to face the direction of the noise. The thud of a tree falling over caused Mami's eyes to widen.

"I don't think these are beowolves that we're about to face. Let's save the introductions until after we've won."

"That's the kind of confidence I can get behind." Kyoko smiled. "This one sounds like he's gonna be big, though. Got any more of those muskets, or was that a one time deal?"

Mami lifted her skirt slightly again, and two more muskets fell out. She grabbed one in each hand. "I think I'll manage."

"Do I even want to know where those came from?" Kyoko laughed, an amused expression taking over face. Mami blushed lightly. She made a mental note to use her hat so long as she was with this girl.

The ground was shaking now, and whatever the creature was it was almost on top of them. Time seemed to slow down as a tree was ripped violently from its roots. Out from the forest burst a boarbatusk larger than any Mami had ever previously seen, even in pictures. Long, thick tusks extended from the sides of its mouth. Even thicker bone covered its sloped face in armor, as well as the front of its legs. Four large eyes glared down at the two girls, sizing up a potential meal. All of the possible scenarios that had been running through Mami's mind immediately evaporated. After emerging from the treeline the beast hadn't stopped, and the girls realized that thousands of pounds of death were bearing down right on top of them.

"Evade, now!" Mami immediately dashed to her right to avoid the charge of the beast. She sprinted towards a tree, hoping to reach higher ground. A glance over her shoulder caused horror to grip her heart. The redhead had tripped and now remained frozen in place, face stricken with terror. There was no time for her to move now. Mami pushed off the ground and spun, ribbons extending out from both of her sleeves. She used one set to pull herself up to a higher branch. The other wrapped around the redhead, yanking her from an unfortunate fate right as the beast reached her. Tusks continued on unimpeded into open air where they smashed into another tree, splitting the wood.

The ribbons deposited the girl onto the branch next to Mami. The blonde sighed thankfully. Had she been a few meters further away the maneuver would have been impossible and she would have been crushed.

"That was a little too close for comfort." Mami extended a hand down as Kyoko pulled the ribbons off herself, the terror on her face dissipating.

"I thought I was gonna die." Kyoko said, voice muted. She seemed to shake herself mentally before taking Mami's hand. Mami hoisted the girl to her feet and watched her smile embarrassedly. "I can't believe I did something as lame as that. Imagine if I'd died to a boarbatusk by tripping over nothing and turning into a pancake. If I ever saw my parents after that they'd never let me hear the end of it."

Mami smiled. "I'm glad you can still smile after something like that. A lot of people wouldn't even be able to stand up after almost dying."

Kyoko grinned. "Lucky for you I'm not most people."

"I'd hate to see my partner die after having just met her. Though as much as I'd love to continue talking, we should probably save that for later. We've got bigger problems right now." The boarbatusk had turned around and focused on the girls, charging directly at the base of the tree the girls currently occupied.

"One really big problem is more like it. Any ideas on how we're gonna kill this thing?"

"It can't cancel its velocity fast enough after a charge. That's when we can strike." Mami prepared to jump from the tree.

Mami extended her wrist, ribbons flying through the air, and swung away from the tree, landing on the ground. "I'll eliminate the eyes! Go for the legs. It has too much agility for us to kill it now!"

Kyoko had already vaulted over to another branch by the time she landed. The boarbatusk impacted with, and amazingly smashed through the base of their previous perch. Splinters and chunks of wood flew through the air, raining down on the two girls. Mami would have been impressed if the thousands of pounds of boarbatusk weren't being directed at her.

Kyoko dashed forward, swiping at the beast's' hind legs. The spear cut into flesh, nowhere near as deep as she had expected. The flesh of the beast was tough. A roar of pain erupted from the beast as it spun, rearing up into the air. Kyoko darted briskly out from under its feet as they came crashing down. The beast roared again but before it could begin another a charge Mami had already taken aim. Bullets slammed into the red orbs that served as eyes for the creature, the only point of vulnerability accessible from the front.

It threw itself at Mami with renewed ferocity, barreling forward at speeds even faster than before. The girl barely managed to hoist herself out of the path of the charge with a well placed ribbon, grateful she hadn't strayed too far from the treeline. She swung around the tree for a moment, using the momentum to drop herself off next to Kyoko in the clearing. The beast impacted with the tree again, swinging its tusks blindly as it searched for the one who had taken its sight. A moment later and it snared an entire tree trunk on its massive tusks.

"It can't see us, but it still has a sense of smell. I can destroy the nose but we'll need t-" Mami was cut off as the boar twisted with blinding speed. She threw herself into Kyoko, shoving them both to the ground as the now airborne trunk sailed over them.

The two girls' faces were almost touching as Mami crouched over Kyoko. "I'll distract it, you make sure you wipe the nose off his face."

The two girls separated and dodged to either side of the charging beast. It stopped suddenly and swiveled, front legs leaving the ground with ferocious speed in an attempt to mangle the redhead. Air rushed past the girl as she sailed between a tusk and the face of the monster with only inches to spare.

She landed and rolled away, swiping at one of its frontal legs and then evading a bone shattering thrust. The beast followed her, exposing its nose to Mami's aim as Kyoko retreated toward the girl.

Mami grinned internally, knowing what was coming next. A musket, much larger than her previous summons, materialized beside her. The stock rested over Mami's shoulder, one arm stretched forward to wrap a hand around the trigger. The other hand was used to take aim.

A thunderous boom reverberated through the air. The impact obliterated the beast's nose, sending blood into the air. That was a feat a swipe from the spear or a few bullets from Mami's muskets could have accomplished. However, bits of bone and whatever else lay inside of the Grimm also splintered away. The boarbatusk's face crumpled as the underlying nasal cavity was crushed, the armor dented and warped around the wound. With both the nose and underlying nasal cavity effectively sealed the monster would have difficulty tracking their movements. It thrashed wildly, blindly striking at anything within range. Kyoko and Mami glanced at each other and both nodded.

Mami clumped up her ribbons, forming an impromptu whip. She slapped the beast in the side of the head and it jerked towards the contact. Another strike lower on its body received another thrash in response. Kyoko flanked around the beast to its opposite and began striking deeper into the wounds already present on its legs, retreating each time it attempted to retaliate. Once Mami regained its attention she would dart in and repeat the process. Eventually the beast's thick legs began to give way and its movements became progressively more sluggish. Finally the beast fell, not dead, but very, very immobile. It wheezed silently, lamenting its terrible fate.

Mami appraised the beast, smiling at their handiwork. Kyoko jumped into the air, hands up as she cried, "We did it!"

"We did, didn't we?" Pride was evident in Mami's voice as the partners made eye contact.

"Kyoko Sakura, at your service." The girl grinned as she struck a heroic pose enthusiastically.

"Mami Tomoe. Like I said before, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm glad to have you as my partner." The two girls shook hands.

"We should get going. A fight like that might attract more of them, after all. As much as we make a badass team, I'd rather not waste all day fighting more these things." Kyoko stretched her arms and grabbed her spear. "It might even be a good idea to try and conserve some energy. That big gun you summoned out of nowhere can't be healthy to overuse."

"Hey, wait a minute." Kyoko turned around suddenly. "You don't have a weapon, do you? No swords or nothing?"

Mami paused for a moment, standing silently.

Kyoko hurriedly backtracked. "Hey, whoa there, I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories or nothin'. I just thought it was weird that somebody could rely on their semblance so much at a school where pretty much everybody prides themselves on their weapons. One girl was walking around with a giant fan of all things. If I were my sister, I'd make a lame pun about blowing the competition away right now."

Mami smiled at the good-natured grimace on the girl's face. She probably grew up 'suffering' through her little sister's puns. The girl obviously held a special place in the redhead's heart. "Anyway, I really don't care what you use. So long as you have my back I'll make sure I have yours."

"You really mean that? Even though we've just met?" Mami held her hands close to her chest and looked down at them.

"Of course. We are partners, after all." The girl scratched the back of her head embarrassedly with a hand. "You seem like you know a lot about what's going on around here. I mean, you knew exactly how to take down that huge boarba-whatsit the second it showed up. I don't know anything like that. So… do you mind…. ah man, this is kinda tough."

Kyoko dropped her hand and smiled again. "Would you teach me about all the things you've learned?"

Mami's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected request, but the girl wasn't done just yet. "Like I said, you seem to know a lot more about being a huntress. You know all about the different types of Grimm and stuff, right? I've never really been too good with keeping up in school. But if I had somebody could teach me about this kind of thing then I'd be a lot better off. If I'd had to face that thing on my own I might've died."

"I understand if you don't want to. I mean, we're going to be going to Beacon after all. You'll have enough on your plate without having to worry about somebody as inexperienced with the Grimm as I am. I won't let it affect our relationship as partners."

"No, I'd love to have you as a student. And I'd love to have you as a friend. I'll take you on and help you out as much as I can. Besides, you're not exactly the first girl I'm taking on this year." Mami raised her eyes to see Kyoko beaming at her, hands behind her back as she smiled. It was infectious, and Mami found herself returning the smile with one every bit as genuine.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** There will be one more chapter before the long hiatus, uploaded within the next two days. Thanks to all my readers for at least coming this far with me.


	4. Initiation Pt 2

"These guys just-" A spear cut through the face of a beowolf.

"Don't-" She yanked it out, throwing herself backwards into the air, flipping over another beowolf whose momentum carried it into the space she had previously occupied.

"Stop!" She landed, driving her weapon forward as the beast attempted to turn, catching it in the side. Another swing and the girl had finished off the creature.

"That's the fourth pack we've had to fight, and yet we haven't encountered the ruins." Mami noted as she approached Kyoko. A similar number of evaporating corpses lay behind her. She had used her ribbons to stay just out of reach of the beowolves as they ran, picking them off with bullets while she swung. The two girls then began moving in what they hoped was the direction of their goal.

"You know, I still don't see the point of fighting those guys alone." Despite the two girls declaring their hopes for the partnership earlier in the forest, and multiple attempts at working together, Mami had insisted that the girls fight this particular pack without assisting each other.

"We're going to be on the same team from now on. Even if we both know working together is better than fighting alone, experiencing it for ourselves is another thing entirely. I suggested it for me as well as you." The concept was sound even if Kyoko didn't agree with the claim to necessity.

"Yeah, well it's not like I couldn't handle those guys on my own. Don't start thinkin' I'm weak on my own, I totally could've taken them all on my own."

"I'm sure." Mami teased.

"But seriously though, there sure are a lot of these guys out here. Kinda strange if you ask me." Kyoko stepped over a fallen tree as the girls continued on. "You wouldn't think there'd be this many Grimm so close to Vale."

"Hmm… now that you mention it you have a point." Mami held a finger to her chin "They have to have some way of culling their numbers. Even if the majority of the Grimm stay in the forest and the surrounding area, enough should attempt to attack the city to cause problems."

"Who knows? I-" The sound of something a small 'whomp!' caused Kyoko to stop in her tracks. Mami continued to walk forward until she realized her friend had stopped. She turned to look at the redhead.

"Kyoko, what's wrong?" Confusion was evident in Mami's tone.

Kyoko raised a hand in response. "Hold on, I think I hear somethin'... there it is again! Can you hear it?"

Mami shook her head again. "No, I can't make anything out. What does it sound like?"

"Sounds like a fight." Kyoko glanced over at Mami expectantly, a grin plastered on her face. "What do you think? Wanna help?"

"Let's go." The two girls dashed off in the direction of the fighting, Kyoko taking the lead.

"We should fight together from here on out. We can devise a plan once we get close and figure out what's going on."

"So long as we actually get to fight. I don't want to spend so long planning they finish up before we jump in." Kyoko voiced her need for battle as the two girls ran. They knew when they were getting close once they passed the evaporating body of a king taijitu. Two or three beowulf corpses lay nearby.

Further up ahead a pink haired girl and a black haired girl stood, holding near the top of a half fallen tree trunk. The two were perched meters above a crowd of grimm. Thankfully the beasts didn't seem to be able to reach the girls aside from walking up the precarious trunk themselves. The pink haired girl was higher up and wielded a bow with at least average skill. Her dark haired companion stood slightly lower, batting frantically at the beowolves attempting to reach their perch with… a golf club of all things. Kyoko almost let out an incredulous laugh at the sight.

 _"The shorter one doesn't really look all that used to fighting. Though I guess I can't judge, Mami did have to save my sorry ass earlier."_ Kyoko tightened her grip on her spear. She looked to her own companion to coordinate a strategy.

Mami's eyes widened in recognition upon spotting the girls. "Homura!"

Homura must have been the dark haired girl, because she almost lost her grip on her weapon upon hearing Mami's shout.

"Miss Tomoe!" Desperation evident in her voice, Homura responded as she batted at another beowulf. Understanding the gravity of the situation, the two girls began to get to work. "Kyoko, once we get started, they'll come for us too. Can you keep them off of me?"

"Hah!. Don't underestimate me, I won't let a single one through!" Kyoko's confidence was almost palpable as she took up a defensive posture in front of Mami.

Mami raised her hands and stepped forward, muskets materializing out of what seemed like thin air. Kyoko hadn't bothered to ask where the muskets were coming from, assuming they were part of the girl's semblance. The blonde took aim and fired into the crowd of beowolves. A moment later and two more muskets were in her hands, and she was already firing again. Some of the beowolves began to break away from the base of the tree and moved to engage the new threat. Unfortunately for them, Kyoko stood in their path.

High up in the tree the pink haired girl fired her bow repeatedly, opting to either thin out the ones attempted to scale the steeply ramped trunk or thinning out the ones running at Kyoko. Within the minute the crowd of beowolves was eliminated and the two girls slid down from the tree. The one Kyoko now knew as Homura hit the ground and stumbled for a moment, Mami stepping forward to catch her. Mami made eye contact with Homura before wrapping her arms around the dark haired girl. Homura tensed up, but then relaxed into the girl's embrace.

The other girl stood by idly, observing the two embracing girls until the blonde released her friend.

"I should thank you. I was worried about Homura, but I can see she's in good hands." Mami smiled and offered up a hand. "My name is Mami Tomoe. Homura and I met once we arrived at Beacon."

"My name is Madoka Kaname. Thanks for helping us out! We really could have died back there."

"Cute and modest? Looks like shorty over there found herself a good catch." Kyoko said playfully as she moved to stand by Mami. "The name is Kyoko Sakura. I'm Mami's partner here at Beacon, though you probably figured that out already."

"This is Homura Akemi. We haven't known each other very long, but she's someone I've come to trust." Mami introduced the dark haired girl.

"Well then, it's nice to meetcha, Homura Akemi!" The girl's eyes widened as Kyoko smiled and extended her own hand forward to shake.

"We should make our way towards the objective before more of them show up. The grimm around here are more active than they usually are." Mami said. Three nods of agreement confirmed the group consensus.

"Um.. Miss Kaname and I managed to catch a glimpse of it… before we were chased back here by the grimm. It's not that far away at all."

"Then what are we standing around for? Let's get going before we end up as something's dinner." With Kyoko's statement Madoka and Homura began to lead the way.

After a few minutes of walking the group came upon what appeared to be the remnants of a stone building. About half of the wall of the circular main building was completely missing, with the entire ceiling gone as well. Stone pedestals stood throughout the decayed edifice, each containing a colored artifact of different shapes and sizes.

"Huh. This isn't as fancy as I was expecting." Kyoko said thoughtfully as they made their way over to the artifacts.

"This one's the king. It looks kind of fearsome! What do you think, Homura?"

"U-um, sure!" Homura recovered quickly from whatever had caused her to stumble. "If that's the one you want then we can take it."

"The king, huh? Sure why not. There's two of them, hope you guys don't mind copycats." Kyoko grabbed the other cat artifact.

"It's more interesting than the queen or the knight." Mami commented.

"Because that was a high bar to hit." Kyoko laughed.

"Your sarcasm is as appreciated as ever." All the girls giggled at Mami's deadpan retort.

"As much as I'd like to sit around here laughing, we should probably make our way back to the cliffside." Madoka suggested sheepishly. "I really don't want to have to fight anything else. I'm not exactly all that strong."

"I would like to avoid more fighting as well." Homura agreed. The group made their way towards the exit of the ruins and began the long trek back.

* * *

"How did it come to this?!" Madoka cried as she leapt into the air. Behind her massive feathers slammed into the rock she had thrown herself from.

High above the fleeing group of four was a giant bird much larger than any avian creature the girls had ever seen. The girls were unfortunate enough to know from experience that it was able to fire feathers that were far sharper than they appeared at relatively high speeds. Not nearly as fast as a gun, but it was still faster than anything Homura was comfortable with having to dodge. The bird had spotted them minutes after they left the ruins and began to fire on the girls as they ran.

"Blame Little Red Riding Hood and Ice Princess, they were the ones riding that thing!" Kyoko stabbed at one of what she assumed was the giant bird's young as it swooped at her. "What happened to red and white anyway?"

"Probably grabbing their artifacts." Mami threw herself into a calculated roll to avoid a torrent of much smaller feathers. Instead of returning fire at the small bird she stuck out a hand and ribbons erupted from her sleeves, yanking Homura out of the way of more feathers as the giant bird flew over.

"These birds are way too tough, but we can't keep going like this!" Madoka fired another arrow ineffectively at the birds. It bounced off of their almost metal-like feathers. Her semblance allowed her to fire a special variety of energy infused arrows from her bow in addition to normal ones, yet even those had no effect.

Mami's bullets also had no visible effect. According to Kyoko Mami had a powerful attack that could probably hurt the creature, but she could only use it twice more before it almost completely drained her aura reserves. Even then it probably wouldn't kill the heavily armored Grimm. Beyond that, heaving around a drained Mami didn't sound like a good plan at all.

 _"Where is the Nevermore anyway?"_ Homura looked around for the bird, waiting for its reappearance as she ran. She spotted it as it rose into the air, flying back over the ruins from before. _"Whoever is at the ruin will have to handle that on their own. There's no way we can help..."_

Silently thanking whatever deity was listening for the small mercy, Homura decided to inform the others of their luck. "I don't think the Nevermore is coming back. It's circling the temple."

"Now all we have to do is deal with these little guys!" Kyoko swiped at another bird, but it flapped out of her reach. "Aw, c'mon!"

"They're too agile when they get close, and the only ranged attack capable of hurting them is my Tiro Finale." Mami observed as she sprinted, avoiding even more feathers.

"If we can just pin them down long enough I can take them!" Kyoko shouted in annoyance.

"The only place not covered in feathers is their legs." Homura panted as she ran.

"Then that's what I'll grab. Those two trees by the log up ahead are where we'll spring our trap. Make sure they all fly through that gap." Mami pushed herself ahead of the group in anticipation of the plan.

The blonde slid to a stop by the trunk of one of the trees she had mentioned. The second the other three girls passed the threshold she erected a barrier of ribbons between the two tree trunks. The barrier was taller than a person, more than enough to catch all of their pursuers. They had flown low with talons outstretched, intent on impaling their prey. Homura held her breath as the birds slammed into the ribbon trap and fell to the ground, completely entangled.

Or that was what the girl had expected. Instead, the flyers let loose a torrent of sharp projectiles, shredding the barrier completely as they flew through it and began to bank to return for another pass. Homura felt her heart drop in dismay as she watched the ribbon fall.

Dismay gave way to astonishment though, as instead of falling helplessly to the ground the pieces lashed themselves together and more ribbons tied those pieces to the tree. The falling pieces wrapped themselves around the legs of the Nevermore's younglings, holding fast and halting their forward momentum. Some of the ribbon snapped but enough was used and kept materializing to keep the avians trapped.

"I assumed they'd notice the first trap, so the best thing to do would be to get them while they were focused on shredding it." Mami's assumption had paid off, Homura noted. Kyoko stabbed at any of the avians she could reach while Homura beat them into unconsciousness with her golf club. Madoka and Mami fired into their squawking mouths whenever they opened. It was grim work, but they managed to finish them before they regained their senses and broke free.

The trek back to the cliffside was mostly uneventful. They encountered surprisingly little resistance compared to their initial journey into the forest. Either the sheer amount of hunters and huntresses-in-training participating in the initiation had managed to thin out the grimm, or they were preoccupied with something else. The group was taking full advantage of what Kyoko had optimistically forecast as the calm before the storm with a much slower pace than they had kept up before.

Homura felt bad for any of the students who might be fighting the hordes of dark creatures. She had known they were going to be scary and had been fretting about the initiation as soon as she knew what it entailed. But nothing she imagined could have prepared her for the sheer ferocity at which the beowolves threw themselves to their deaths. And if what Mami was currently explaining was true….

"That's why when you're facing certain grimm you need to be careful. It can be difficult to determine just how much they actually know."

"So let me get this straight, you're saying that almost all of the grimm we fought today were just really young? That's why these guys have been so suicidal?" Kyoko sighed. "And here I thought we were just getting better."

"Yes. The older a grimm is, the more likely it is that they have learned how and when to fight. Older grimm will have learned how to hunt and use more than just instinct based tactics to overcome their enemy. The oldest grimm usually stop hunting humans altogether. They only fight when they know they can win and it won't bring more humans down on them."

"Wow Mami, you seem like you know a lot about this kind of thing," Even when Madoka's praise wasn't directed at her it still managed to bring a light tint to Homura's cheeks.

"I learned all of this from my mentor before I came here. He was also the one who taught me how to fight." Homura picked up on the somber tone towards the end of Mami's words. She couldn't tell if the others had picked up on the change in tone. Before she could comment, Kyoko spoke up again.

"Well what about all those weird grimm then? Y'know, the ones tha-" Kyoko paused. "Hey, do you guys hear that?"

"Someone's in trouble!" Madoka's worried tone spoke volumes about the girl.

"Can we help them?" Homura failed to keep the anxiousness out of her voice.

"Geez, don't be ridiculous!" Kyoko's began abrasively. "We all know you guys are gonna charge right in anyway. You three don't look like the type to abandon others, and there's no way I'm letting you three be the heroes without me. So let's get moving already."

Mami turned to make eye contact her new partner and student. An unspoken message passed between the two as Mami nodded, the contents of which Homura was unable to decipher from their expressions. The older girl then smiled widely, causing a light blush to cross the redhead's face.

"It's decided then. Let's go!" Mami's renewed vigor as she led the girls on a charge through the forest left Homura staring at the girl's back in contemplation.

As they got closer to the source of the conflict it was clear what was happening. The problem revealed itself through gaps in the vegetation above, in the form of a massive winged blob soaring overhead.

"That's not a beak I wanted to see again!" Homura found that she agreed with the exclamation.

" _I want to help, but what can we do? Even if I could control my semblance better it still wouldn't help at all."_ Rather than voice her frustration at her uselessness she looked to the person most likely to have a plan.

"Um... Miss Tomoe!" Homura gasped out as they raced through the trees, running low on breath. They were quickly approaching the treeline, beyond which lay the battle. "H-how are we going to fight this thing if we couldn't even hurt it before?"

"We can figure something out once we get closer and know who we're helping. Right now we don't have any other option!" The Nevermore seemed to be circling something. Flaming shells screamed through the air, impacting and exploding brightly on its feathers. They didn't seem to have much of an effect, although it was difficult to make out through the forest.

The Nevermore circled out of view for what seemed to be another attack run. The girls burst through the treeline just in time to see another group of four students battling an oversized scorpion on the ruins of a stone bridge over a chasm. Beyond lay the remnants of some sort of massive stone structure perched high above the canyon, in between the cliffside they were to return to and the land they currently stood on. Homura's eyes widened as the girl from the cereal box threw her shield, severing the stinger from the scorpion's tail, dropping the appendage onto its head. The bronze shield ricocheted off of a pillar before bouncing back into her hand. She then kneeled down, holding her shield above her head. Confusion swam through her mind before the orange haired girl hopped onto the shield, the head of the massive warhammer she held stuck down onto the shield. She gripped the weapon at a midway point on the shaft, presumably pulling some sort of trigger. Homura felt like her eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets as the orange haired girl flew into the air, driven into the air by some sort of explosion. She hung in the air at the apex of her flight, floating languidly. Then she spun, barrel of the gun on her hammer facing in the air.

She fired, propelling herself down at the scorpion while spinning wildly. The hammer slammed into it, the stinger sinking into the arachnid. It collapsed, momentarily stunned. The blonde boy and cereal box girl were thrown from the bridge as it was knocked loose from the foundation securing it to the other side. They landed safely as the orange haired girl fired again, the impact of whatever grenade she was launching sending the scorpion off the edge of the cliff with the rest of the bridge.

Homura watched the scorpion fall to its death. _"Could we have done that? If we'd been given the chance…. Could I fight something that big?"_

As the Nevermore flew back over everyone turned their attention to the four girls stuck in the circular middle platform. Another bridge had led over to them, but it too had collapsed. Mami threw a hand forward and ribbons erupted from her sleeve, crossing the gap and securing themselves to the other side.

"Go now!" The voice came out a slightly strained and hard, but the girls wasted no time in following Mami's orders. Above another blonde girl dropped away from the Nevermore's mouth. It slammed into the cliffside where the girl clad in white who had been riding the Nevermore earlier somehow froze its tail to the rock face. She backflipped through the air, pushing off of white glyphs that materialized in thin air to rejoin her black and red clad girl Homura had also seen on the Nevermore was there. She stood on some sort of long black rope two of her friends tied between two pillars. The rope was secured to the ground at the middle by some sort of glowing black glyph. It looked almost like…

"A slingshot?!" Are these girls crazy?" Kyoko echoed a sentiment each of the girls could agree with.

The girls on the platform seemed to communicate for a moment before the scythe wielder rocketed through the air, firing as she went. She landed next to the Nevermore's neck and blue glyphs materialized up along the cliff face. Homura knew her eyes couldn't possibly open any further as she proceeded to do what should have been impossible by all human standards. The girl secured the underside of her scythe around the Nevermore's neck and began firing, running _up_ the cliffside, dragging the beast behind her. As she approached the top her battle cry increased in volume. Gasps of wonder and awe came from the girls around her, but Homura barely paid any attention to them. The girl reached the top of the mountain right as the Nevermore's neck gave way, head flying off in a burst of rose petals and feathers. Cries of amazement and wonder erupted from the girls around her.

"Whoa..." Kyoko's said, mouth agape.

"That was amazing…" Madoka's voice was equally as awestruck.

For her part, Mami looked on silently.

Homura stood there, watching the corpse plunge into oblivion. She watched as her friends observed the sight, each too enthralled to possibly look away. In that moment she knew the sight would be etched into each of their minds forever, each girl taking away something different from the experience.

She thought about the situation for a moment, then clenched her hands and looked away.

* * *

Mami walked slowly down the hall. The sunset filtering in through the large glass windows donated towards a peaceful atmosphere. She was walking to meet up with the rest of her friends who were waiting by the auditorium.

After the battle the girls had witnessed over the chasm it had taken a few minutes for everyone to figure out what to do. Much of the structure had been destroyed in the battle. The stability of what remained seemed safe enough, but none of the students present had been willing to bet their lives on that. Mami had reached the girls who had slain the Nevermore with another bridge of ribbon. A third bridge brought them across to place where the Nevermore's tail had been encased in ice, the ice shards still present. Mami utilized Weiss' glyphs to follow the girl she now knew as Ruby up the cliff. A few ribbons later and everyone was able to follow.

They returned to Professor Ozpin where they were congratulated on their success in the forest. From there they were directed into the building to relax before the ceremony that Mami was currently walking towards.

The sight of a familiar black ribbon set in red hair brought Mami away from her recollection of the day. The girl sat by a window, back to the dark curtains as she lounged against the wall in thought. She lifted a pocky stick into her mouth, chewing silently. Mami smiled softly as she approached her partner, who seemed to possess a thoughtful side.

"The sunset is pretty, isn't it?" Mami remarked.

"Yeah. It's kinda fitting after a battle like that."

"Fighting the Nevermore's young was much more difficult than I expected."

Kyoko was silent for a moment. "That's not what I was talking about."

"Yeah, I know."The redhead looked up in surprise at Mami's words. "Compared to either group our battles today weren't nearly as cool. That's how I feel, anyway. It's difficult not to feel inadequate after a battle like that."

"Little Red Riding Hood cut off the head of the largest grimm I've ever _seen_. All we did was get chased around by a bunch of oversized chickens. Not exactly the most heroic thing I've ever done." Kyoko grumbled the last part.

Mami sat down beside Kyoko as the redhead sighed. "You know, I came here because I'm looking for something. That battle made me realize just how far I am from it."

Kyoko watched Mami out the side of her eye, a curious expression on her face. "Looking for something?"

"Yes. It's a little embarrassing, especially because I'm not entirely sure what is it I'm searching for. But I think I can find it here. Or at least I hope I can"

"Hmm…" Kyoko looked down at her hands. They sat in silence for a few more minutes. A blue haired girl and a brown haired girl that was probably her partner marched down the hall.

"The ceremony is going to start soon. You guys might want to finish up before it starts." The blue haired girl said over her shoulder as they passed. Kyoko watched the pair reach the end of the hall and disappear around the corner. She then turned her head to look at Mami. Before she could come up with anything to say, Mami beat her to the punch.

"No matter how things turned out today, let's try and do our best tomorrow. That's how we'll become stronger." Mami rose to her feet and offered Kyoko a hand. The girl examined it for a moment before meeting it with her own.

"The ceremony _is_ going to start soon. We should probably get a move on." Kyoko said as Mami pulled her to her feet. "But thanks."

"Thanks? For what? I'm not so sur-" A raised hand stopped Mami's words.

"For being here like this. I mean, we just met a few hours ago and here you are already looking out for me. I think you'd make-" Kyoko stopped suddenly, cheeks reddening almost instantly.

Mami stared at the girl in an attempt to decipher her expression. "You think I'd make what?"

"Ah, uh, it's nothing! Nothing at all!" Kyoko waved her hands frantically.

"Oh, I see. That's how it is then? We've just met today and you're already having impure thoughts about me?"

"H-hey! It's not like that at all!" Kyoko only became more flustered as Mami tried to control her laughter. The redhead swatted at Mami, which only served to intensify her laughter. Finally she managed to rein herself in and the two decided to follow the girls into the auditorium where Professor Ozpin and most of the student body was waiting. They made their way over to their friends and waited to be assigned into their teams. Once the ceremony started it seemed that groups of four students would walk out onto the stage to be sorted. Upon being formed one student from the team would be designated as the leader and the crowd would applaud all four of them.

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will be known as Team CRDL, led by… Cardin Winchester." Ozpin's words were easily audible behind the curtain. Mami noted Kyoko's frown as he announced the team leader.

 _"They seem to be acquainted. Hopefully I'll remember to ask her about it later."_ Mami decided it would be a bad idea to ask Kyoko about the boy now when everyone was in such a good mood.

"There are a lot of people at Beacon this year." Madoka noted quietly as the crowd clapped for Team CRDL.

"Yeah. I thought with this many people showing up they'd figure out a way to trim the fat or something." Kyoko commented.

The next team to be formed was Team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc. Mami had observed the boy's leadership ability during what little bit they had arrived to see and found she wasn't surprised at the choice. In hindsight it seemed obvious. She clapped politely for the newly formed team along with the rest of the students.

" _He's nervous but he'll do fine. Aft- oh dear."_ Mami watched a celebratory punch from Pyrrha Nikos (formerly known as the girl from the cereal box) knock her newly christened team leader off his feet. The crowd laughed and clapped again until the next few portraits appeared on the screen.

"Hey, that's us!" Kyoko exclaimed as Ozpin began calling their names.

"We're going to be on the same team?" Homura's voice sounded hopeful. Mami would have smiled at the thought if she wasn't already beaming.

"We do have the same chess pieces, after all." Mami commented.

"You say that like we were paying attention." Kyoko quipped as they made their way onto the stage while their names were being called. Of course Mami knew the girl had been paying attention. But the banter was part of the fun.

"You retrieved the black king pieces. From this day forward you will become the members of Team MMHK, led by… Mami Tomoe." Like the other team leaders before her she stood there with a look of incredulity plastered on her face. A nudge in the side quickly snapped her out of her daze. She looked over to see Kyoko grinning at her.

"Did you expect anything less? You're the one that got us safely out of that forest. You made the right calls and got everyone home alive." Mami looked at Kyoko and was stunned to see the trust in her eyes.

"Um… it might not be a Nevermore, b-but you did take down that really big boar. I think you're strong." Mami felt her heart warm at Homura's support.

"You really were amazing out there today. When nobody knew what to do you knew exactly where we should go. You're gonna make a great leader, Mami!" Madoka exclaimed.

Mami found that she was the one blushing underneath all of the praise from her team. _"It's nice…. having this many people believing in you."_

The blonde girl couldn't keep the bashful grin off her face. "Thank you. All of you."

Ozpin's voice brought their attention back to the ceremony as the next team was formed. "Sayaka Miki, Kirika Kure, Sasa Yuuki, and Oriko Mikuni, you four retrieved the white bishop pieces. From this day forward you will form Team KOSM, led by… Oriko Mikuni."

The formation of Team KOSM sparked another round of applause from the crowd. Mami once again applauded until a nudge from Kyoko caused her to glance at the girl. She pointed towards Homura, who stood silently, staring intently at the girl they now knew as Oriko Mikuni.

 _"Those two have history as well? Team leader is going to be an interesting position to fill this year…"_

"Wow, she doesn't look surprised at all. She must be really strong to have guessed she'd be appointed leader." Mami's eyes widened faintly, further scrutinizing the girl on stage at Madoka's comment. She seemed humble as her team basked in the applause, but part of gaze seemed almost… indifferent. She would also be somebody to watch out for.

The next team to be introduced was comprised of the four girls who had slain the Nevermore. The youngest girl scythe wielding girl who had dealt the final blow was appointed to lead the team and afterwards the ceremony entered its closing stages. The students made their way back towards the dormitories as they talked and laughed. The voices of Mami's teammates carried her throughout the night, and not a single thought of inadequacy compared to the other teams penetrated her reverie.

Later that night the girls finally lowered themselves into their beds, intent on catching up on sleep before their first day of classes. Mami rested her head on her pillow as the others fell asleep one by one until finally she was the last. She looked around the room and smiled at the sight of her new team, ready to face the days ahead.

As she slept the sound of sword meeting flesh and the sight of chocolate sunken into the ground danced throughout her dreams.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** That's the fourth chapter. From this point forward (6/27/2015) is where the long hiatus begins. It will at least be two months. Potentially longer depending on how things are set up after that. My goal is to return to this story, but life happens. We'll see how things go.

Since I won't be able to work on _Framework_ for some time I'll address some concerns people may have (Or at least concerns I would have if I were you) about the direction the story is going in on my profile. Normally I'd leave it at "wait and see", but this time I'll make an exception. The section will be clearly labeled for all of you.

Once again, thanks for reading. I'd appreciate any thoughts no matter how pointless or asinine, and any criticism no matter how harsh or critical. Tell me what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't. If words made you feel a certain or way or even failed to do so, I'd like to know.

Thank you all for coming this far with me.


	5. Combat Practice

The figure danced through the crowd of Grimm, evading and attacking at the same time. Her weapon was a blur of gold that almost moved too fast for the human eye to follow. Thousands of the monsters surged forward in an attempt to overwhelm the warrior. Despite their numbers they couldn't come close to harming the being who was practically death incarnate. Movements too intricate and precise for even monsters to keep pace allowed the girl to hold onto her life. Swathes of Grimm perished due to her actions, and many more human lives were saved. They cheered her on from the sidelines, chanting, "Kyoko! Kyoko! Wake up!"

 _"Huh? That's a stupid chant. Is that any way to show your appreciation?"_ Strangely the crowd began to fade. The entire world felt like it was shaking, no, rather the essence of the world felt like it was shaking. That was almost as strange as th- _"Ah, wait… I'm dreaming aren't I?"_

Kyoko opened her eyes, unamused expression prepared for whoever had the nerve to wake her from her slumber. A pair of large pink eyes stared back at her, inches away from her face at most.

"Gaahhh! What the hell?!" Kyoko shot up and scrambled clumsily backwards in her bed, one hand grasping for a weapon that was nowhere to be found.

"Umm… Miss Kyoko, if you don't get ready soon we're going to be late." The soft statement had come from the timid dark haired girl that was now on her team. She sat on another bed across the room. Everything was still slightly hazy, but as more of Kyoko's brain functions returned she was able to identify the girl's name as Homerun.

" _As the only authority on the subject I'll have to defer to its conclusions."_ Her sleep addled mind validated the idea.

"Yeah, yeah… I'll be up in a moment…" The words were accompanied by a yawn. She was already lowering herself back into the nest of blankets, intent on returning to her slumber. Unfortunately the sensation of cool air washing over her legs told Kyoko that Madoka was having none of it.

"Kyoko!" Madoka held the blankets she had yanked away from Kyoko out of her reach, ignoring the frantic protests and attempts of retrieval coming from the girl. So it was Madoka who had woken her up. She'd remember that.

"Gaaahhhh… I didn't sign up for this…" Kyoko flopped back onto the bed, groaning as Madoka chuckled at her predicament. Even Homura smiled, however small it was.

" _Waking up this early? This can't possibly get any worse."_ Kyoko sighed.

A half hour later the feeling of a hand timidly shaking her shoulder Kyoko from the edge of slumber once again, proving that things could indeed get worse.

"Um… M-miss Sakura, you really should try and pay attention." Homura's hushed whisper served to rouse Kyoko even further.

"Ungh…" It wasn't her fault this class was so boring. Listening to some old guy tell sixteen different puffed up stories about his days as a hunter in the field could probably be pretty interesting. Honestly though, Kyoko would have preferred to actually be learning about the Grimm in Grimm studies than listen to another few minutes of this.

"Is there a problem, ladies?"

 _"And there it is."_ The girl in question grumbled inwardly as Homura let out an almost inaudible squeak. A large shadow settled over her desk and before even looking up she knew who was casting it.

Professor Port loomed over the table the four girls occupied. "Well?"

The day was off to a poor start, but Kyoko's actions over the next few seconds might be able to salvage the deteriorating situation before it took a nosedive as well. All she had to do was look mildly embarrassed and the guy would get off her back. Kyoko wasn't one to back off from a fight, but the notion of making an enemy out of a teacher this early in the year was almost enough to make her walk out of class and head right back to bed. A girl could only take so much hassle early in the morning, after all. She might have seemed rash, but Kyoko really did try to pick her battles. Sometimes. Occasionally. Well, this moment at least made once and that had to count for something.

"Well?" Professor Port repeated himself once more, moustache twitching.

If asked later she'd claim she did her best for Homura's sake. But even her best wasn't enough to keep the snicker from slipping out at the sight of that grey furry caterpillar he called a moustache spasming. Even as she watched the bushy beast writhing in the air like a dust buffalo desperately trying to escape the clutches of the vacuum cleaner, she tried to regain her composure. Homura's mouth had dropped open in horror as she witnessed the impending storm. That was almost enough to send her over the edge, but not quite. No, it was buxom blonde from team RWBY sitting on the other side of the room, imitating the professor behind his back that sent Kyoko out of her chair, cackling madly at the ridiculousness of it all.

"...And that's how we ended up here." The redhead finished with a shrug as she leaned back in her chair.

"So... you think... the universe is... conspiring against…. you...?" Ruby asked cautiously.

"Hey, I just call it as I see it. How else could I have gone from a life where I can sleep as long as I want to to and had little responsibility to whatever this is so easily? I've had some pretty shitty mornings but this one takes the cake." Kyoko paused as if considering something. "What's your story anyway? How does Little Red Riding Hood end up in detention?"

The girl in question sank back into her chair as her eyes widened. Kyoko cocked an eyebrow at the action. Maybe she hadn't expected the question to be turned on her.

"Well.. it's kinda a long story."

"Good thing we're not going anywhere then, huh Little Red?" Kyoko crossed her arms and smirked expectantly.

"It's Ruby." The girl almost rolled her eyes, an action Kyoko would've considered a victory, but instead she placed a palm on either temple and sighed. "I got into a fight with my partner. I know we're supposed to work together and all but she can be so frustrating sometimes! I know some of it is my fault. She wants me to be a better leader and probably feels jealous that somebody two years younger than her got selected for the position in the first place."

"So where's the holdup then?"

"I can't be the leader she wants me to be. It's not the type of person I am. I'm nowhere near as studious as she is. I'm goofy, a bit of a klutz, and socially awkward. She wants somebody with the discipline of a knight and the style of a princess… but I can't lead that way." With each word Ruby seemed to get smaller and smaller, closing in on herself. "I'm not sure I'm cut out to be the leader she wants me to be."

Kyoko watched the girl silently as she stared at her hands which were now in her lap. "That story wasn't all that long at all."

When Ruby remained silent she sighed as well. An eye roll would've been at least a small victory. But Red wasn't even giving her that. Oh well, better try to lift her spirits. Making friends was usually less bothersome than making enemies, after all. "You know, I never really questioned why Mami was chosen as leader over me. The way I see it, she's cut out for the job, no doubt about it."

Ruby still didn't look up so Kyoko continued. "Mams is special. She's got plenty of combat experience and seems to be pretty quick on her feet too. She looks like the type to think her actions through instead of just charging in wildly. Me on the other hand, I'm a bit more blunt than that. Why should I wait around to come up with some crazy plan when I can just blow right through whatever's in my way?

When you finished saying what you just said, I still didn't understand a word of it. There doesn't seem to be anything holding you back far as I can tell." Ruby looked up at the end of that statement. _"Hook, line, and sinker."_

"I mean, if you can't lead the way she wants you to then why should you? The way I see it if you try your best they can't ask much more of you, right? No use in letting somebody who isn't leadin' gettin' you all wound up just because you are." She lifted some of the beef jerky she had smuggled in to her mouth. Then she removed another piece from the bag and held it out in front of the other girl with a grin. "Want one?"

* * *

"I heard somebody got stuck with detention today!" Ruby rolled her eyes at Yang's teasing tone. "Come on little sister, tell me all about it."

"Yang..."

"It was worth it, though, right? I'm not sure what happened but if you got yourself landed there it had to have been worth it. You are my sister after all." Yang winked. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yang..." Hopefully her older sister would take the hint that Ruby was not in the mood for her antics.

"Tell me you at least made some new friends in detention! That's where I met some of my closest friends back at Signal."

Or not.

"Yan-!" Ruby stopped suddenly. She then smiled to herself, giggling silently.

"Huh?" Yang cocked her head to the side and gave Ruby a quizzical look. "Earth to Ruby, you okay?"

"You're right, Yang. Detention mighthave been worth it after all." At Yang's excited expression Ruby moved to cut off her sister before she got moving. "But I'm not planning on ending up there again, so don't try to rope me into anything illegal!"

Yang's cocked eyebrow seemed to question if Ruby remembered the incident that got her into Beacon in the first place. Ruby sighed then rolled her eyes as she amended her statement. "Too illegal."

The smirk on her sister's face spoke of victory. She'd let the blonde win this one too. But one day her sister wouldn't be watching her back… Ruby allowed herself a rare smirk in which all of her diabolical planning seemed to be personified. And it was gone before Yang turned back to her. Her sister might win most of their arguments, but Ruby would have patience.

"Anyway, let's go meet up with Blake and Weiss before combat practice." Yang suggested.

"If that's what you want to call that class. We never do anything fun in there! It's just drills, drill, drills!" Ruby pouted.

"You weren't paying attention last class, were you?" This smirk alerted Ruby to the fact that she might be missing out on something.

"Why do you ask? It's not lik- no way! You didn't use a stupid nickname for the class! Does that mean-" The scythe wielder couldn't keep the grin off her face as she realized what she was about to hear.

"You'd better believe it, sis! Today's the first day of actual combat practice. No more paladin drills or burst drills anymore!" The older sister punched the air in joy. "Now we get to show off our stuff."

"Yes! This is something I can get behind! An hour of no worrying about school work or sleep or Weiss! For a little, it'll just be me and my baby." She pretended to hug Crescent Rose (Which unfortunately was in her locker) close to herself with glee.

"They won't tell us who we're facing until we're in the actual class, but I knew this would get you all excited!" Yang smiled at her sister's joy. "We're not going to all be able to fight today. They said this is the largest class they've have yet. Something about how the classes are getting larger every year."

"Hey… How did you find out about this anyway?" Ruby asked, the thought suddenly occuring to her.

" _Yang, I hope this is the worst idea you'll have for a while." Blake hissed as she and Yang desperately hung from the ceiling. If either professor thought to look up the girls would be busted. Only Blake's creative use of Gambol Shroud to tether the girls to the ceiling kept them from discovery. Blake had thought she should try to be more receptive to Yang's attempts at bonding. If the look in her eye was any indication, she was now regretting that sentiment._

"Oh, you know, it's just something I heard somewhere." Yang waved it off. Then she stopped as if coming to a realization. "Hey Ruby, I was thinking. Doesn't Blake sorta remind you of a cat?"

"Hmm…" Ruby paused for a moment, considering the question. "It's the bow."

"Yup, definitely the bow." Yang agreed. "I wonder if she hears that a lot."

* * *

"... I just don't see why we have to go through all of this. We've fought half of these guys anyway. The only ones that we might need to know more about are those anonymous guys." Kyoko grumbled as she crossed her arms in front of her.

Unfortunately for her, Mami showed no signs of letting up on the girl. "Even if we're strong enough to fight most of the lesser Grimm by ourselves, we should still strive to understand their weaknesses. More often than not, the difference between life and death on the battlefield is knowledge."

"Wow Mami, you're really getting into your senpai mode now." Madoka teased, ducking as Mami materialized a ribbon and swatted at her.

"B-besides, what if we run into one of the bird things again?" Homura said worriedly. "W-we couldn't even touch it before…"

"We'll just have to work together then, right Homura?" Madoka said, practically bursting with optimism. As she spoke she clasped Homura's hands while smiling.

"U-uh-um, I…" The dark haired girl felt a blush come to her face as she stuttered awkwardly. Kyoko's snickering only deepened her blush. A light impact and stern voice saved Homura from any more teasing.

"Don't try and use Homura to get out of your studying." Mami rapped Kyoko on the head with her ribbons. "Even if we know how to fight lesser Grimm, the larger Grimm, ancients, and anomalous Grimm are still threats. The only threat larger than them right now is Professor Port if you don't complete your work."

Kyoko blanched, but admittedly the blonde did have a point. "Well contrary to popular belief I actually do know some of this stuff "

"Oh?" Mami grinned bemusedly. "Do tell."

"Lesser Grimm are the little guys. Greater Grimm are the big ones that require teams of hunters to take down. Ancient Grimm are equivalent to raid bosses. And anonymous Grimm are the weirdos of the bunch." Kyoko said, adding a faux haughty tinge to the end of the statement.

"I'm impressed. However I don't think the professor will be too happy if that's what you write on his test. You still need to know the different types of each class of Grimm if you want to pass. And you do want to pass, right?"

"Do we really need to know all of them?"

"Aside from the _Anomalous_ Grimm, yes." Mami said with emphasis on the anomalous.

"Grimm so unique that only one of them exists in the whole world…" Madoka said with wonder. Homura felt her cheeks tinge again. Even when not directed at her Madoka's optimism was.. overwhelming. She hoped it wasn't too visible on her face. Fortunately the others seemed to be preoccupied with the conversation.

"They sound pretty scary when you put it like that." Mami noted. "But it's exciting in it's own way, isn't it?"

Kyoko laughed. "Yeah, we could be the first to take down some crazy kind of Grimm nobody else has ever fought before. Imagine writing home about that."

A look passed behind Mami's eyes. Homura evidently had been staring for just a moment too long as Mami recovered and their eyes met. Homura averted hers embarrassedly.

"I don't know if I could do something like that, though." Madoka smiled sheepishly. "I'm really not that strong, but if you all were there I'd try my best."

"Hah, as if. I bet you're a lot stronger than you think you are. How else would you have gotten into Beacon?" Kyoko voiced her faith in the girl like it was a simple matter of fact. Was that faith in Madoka though, or in Beacon Academy?

"I…" Homura started dejectedly. "I'm not all that strong either..."

"You too. Homura?" Kyoko asked skeptically. The redhead probably had little experience with feeling out of place, especially in a combat situation, or so Homura figured.

"I…" Homura began quietly. Mercifully Mami chose that moment to speak up.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we should think about getting to our next class. We'll be late if we wait any longer." Mami suggested with a light smile. Homura let out a sigh of relief. Relating to Madoka had prompted her to speak out uncharacteristically. Having to explain to her… team members why she was so weak would have been mortifying…

"Aww man, what class do we have this time?" Kyoko groaned.

"Combat practice." Homura felt her stomach drop at Madoka's words.

"Typically practice bouts at Beacon Academy operate under tournament rules. You would do well to commit these to heart, as Beacon's hunters and huntresses often find themselves operating under them many times over their four years at this Academy." Glynda Goodwitch projected an aura of sternness about her. It was fitting that she would end up teaching combat classes. Very few of the other professors were as suited as she was to the challenge.

The impression the blonde teacher left on Mami was that she wouldn't brook any misconduct or disrespect for the battles that transpired under her jurisdiction. Seeing the looks on her teammates' faces she hoped that was the case.

Kyoko appeared to be excited. Mami expected no less from her partner. While the girl didn't have the most enthusiasm for schoolwork she had the heart and drive of a hunter. Thus, the redhead was the one she was worried about the least.

Madoka alternated between apprehensiveness and worry. The pinkette didn't appear to be somebody who was used to battle, so the apprehension was to be expected. But if Mami had to guess, she was worried more about the dark haired girl sitting nearby more than her own battle.

Homura was the one who worried Mami the most. The girl looked as if she were ready to bolt and run at any moment. Her eyes would occasionally glance towards the entrance, as if hoping some excuse would whisk her away from the class in order to avoid the possibility of a spar.

"Really, you should have committed these rules to heart by now. It's been a full two weeks since classes have started. If you don't know tournament rules and restrictions by now I would suggest you find someone who does before your match begins." Glynda continued. "As there is not enough time in the classes for everyone to participate today and cover the things I want in the second half, only a portion of the students will be engaging in combat practice. Everyone else will have their matches in the next class."

"With that being said, listen closely. We will begin with the first match shortly." Mami smiled, mildly surprised at the tension that was lightly grasping her heart. It wasn't like her to be so apprehensive about a mock battle. It was nice to be able to still feel things like that.

"The first bout will be between Sayaka Miki and Kyoko Sakura." Kyoko rose to her feet with a grin at the words.

"Alright! I've been waiting to get some action around here! Sorry Mams, didn't mean to show you up this early." Kyoko stuck her tongue out at her partner as she teased. Then she leapt over the stands, landing deftly in the arena. Seconds later her opponent landed across from her. She was a blue-haired girl who wore a sleeveless white blouse with blue upper breastplate. A blue skirt and blue arm sleeves adorned her upper body. Blue boots and a white cape finished off the ensemble. She examined Kyoko for a second, sizing up the competition as the two girls moved to meet in the middle of the arena. Customarily competitors shook hands before the beginning of their match.

"You got it Sayaka!" Kirika was waving wildly at the bluette.

"Good luck Sayaka!" A brown haired girl called out to her friend.

"You can do it Kyoko!" Madoka and Mami shouted together.

Kyoko wasn't sure what to make of the blue haired girl in front of her. Her getup reeked of wannabe superhero with the cape and all. But Kirika's outfit wasn't much better.

 _"I guess I shouldn't judge this one until we actually fight. She doesn't look too tough though."_ Kyoko thought as she extended her hand. The bluette met hers appropriately, but leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Looking down on me already? You'll be eating those words in a bit." Ah. It must've been showing on her face. This could be troublesome.

"I'm not looking down on you, greenie; you're just looking up at me. Try and keep up." Kyoko grinned challengingly. The look on the other girl's face as she walked back to the starting position told her she accepted.

They both looked to the professor who examined both the competitors. Stillness fell over the stands as they were gripped by the anticipation of the very first battle. Even mock duels restricted by tournament style rules were intense.

"Remember, the moment one of the competitors' auras falls into the red an official can call the match. However for the sake of integrating you all into the combat curriculum this year, matches will end as soon as aura falls into the red until your second semester." Professor Goodwitch readjusted her glasses.. "And with that… begin."

Sayaka seemed surprised by the sudden start. That momentary hesitation was not shared by Kyoko. She darted forward keeping low to the ground as she moved. Right before reaching the girl she leapt into the air. To Sayaka- and those in the stands, Kyoko was sure- it must have looked like the bluette had the advantage. She could change her position while Kyoko was stuck on that particular trajectory. And by all means Sayaka should have had ample time to set up a trap.

What actually happened was Kyoko twisted in midair, gripping the shaft of her spear tightly, stabbing the head towards the ground. The shaft extended and propelled her back a few feet as Sayaka lunged for where Kyoko should have been. With her guard exposed Kyoko darted forward slamming her spear hard into Sayaka's exposed gut. In an unexpected show of dexterity, rather than be knocked back or fall back by will the bluette rolled over the spearhead and into Kyoko's guard. A hand grabbed Kyoko's left wrist as the girl sliced into her waist. Kyoko's shaft retracted and extended again. Rather than watch her head be impaled this time Sayaka did back off.

Sayaka was fast. Faster than Kyoko was. Kyoko's only saving grace would be her opponent's reaction time. A human being (barring semblances) could only react so fast and to so many different possibilities at once. And with a cutlass her ability to defend would be limited compared to one of the shield bearers Kyoko could have ended up against.

"Alright, so you're not so green after all. There's still no way for you to win this one." Kyoko taunted. Sayaka grinned at the provocation.

"Ready to start taking me seriously now?"

Huh. Somebody who actually had some backbone. And she wasn't wrong either. Not taking the bluette seriously wouldn't end well. If the bluette could continue to get inside the effective range of Kyoko's spear the redhead would lose.

" _So I won't let her get inside. That's an easy one."_ This time Sayaka took the initiative, charging straight at Kyoko. Their weapons met with a metal clang and the smiles dropped from each of their faces. Kyoko moved, disentangling their weapons and delivering a fast swipe from her spearhead towards the side. Sayaka easily knocked the head aside, and the followup from the butt of the weapon. They exchanged blows neither breaking through the guard of the other. Kyoko seemed to have a slight advantage, due to being able to use both ends of her weapon in battle.

The equal exchanged continued, Sayaka gaining a cut there, and Kyoko countering with one of her own moments later. When the girls had just over half of their aura remaining Kyoko stabbed her spear downward again and launched herself into the air. Sayaka remained in place, watching the redhead's movements more closely this time. The same trick wouldn't work twice.

It was a good thing Kyoko wasn't planning on using the same trick.

She spun in midair as she fell. As she spun her spear seemed to fall apart. However it wasn't disrepair that had caused the weapon to do so. Instead the spear collapsed into several short segments of metal connected by chains. They were hurled towards Sayaka, who couldn't conceal the look of shock on her face. A moment later bluette recovered in the nick of time, raising her cutlass in order to swipe away a section of chain and create an opening. With her current momentum Kyoko would have no way to avoid such a move.

" _Gotcha."_ Kyoko didn't even bother to keep the smirk off her face as she flicked her hand while she fell. Rather than make contact with the cutlass, the chains responded with a snap. They cut sharply around Sayaka's guard, piercing into her aura with a lacerating effect. Sayaka was thrown from her feet when the weapon slammed into her. She rolled to her feet as Kyoko marched towards her, spinning her unsegmented spear in her hands. Kyoko darted forward again, resegmenting the weapon and swinging it around the girl's guard again, biting deep into her aura. The gauges were now clearly favoring Kyoko as the victor.

" _Still, she shouldn't have such an easy time standing after that one… fine then!"_ Kyoko would press her attack.

Sayaka grit her teeth and managed to parry the next swing. The chains whirled and whipped as the bluette tried to stay ahead. By all means she should have been overwhelmed. She ducked underneath of a length of chain and attempted to lunge in towards Kyoko. Instead she cried out in surprise as the ball at the end of the chain wrapped a length of chain around her. Kyoko swung her arms with all her strength, yanking the girl into the air and viciously slamming her down.

"Wanna give in?" Kyoko taunted competitively. Though Kyoko was the only girl panting it was still clear who had the advantage. If Kyoko's opponent had been a ranged specialist, or had some way to deal with the chains there would have been more of a contest. Against a girl with only one cutlass Kyoko's offense was simply overwhelming.

And yet Sayaka was still standing.

" _That last slam should've taken a lot more out of her. Come to think of it, all of my attacks seem sorta muted against this girl…"_ Kyoko may have been taunting, but she was watching her opponent with the eyes of a hawk.

For her part Sayaka grinned at the jeer as she rose to her feet.

" _She didn't even struggle to get up at all… it was just like she tripped and got back up! This her semblance or somethin'?"_

"Not a chance!" Defiance shown behind the bluette's eyes.

"Good; this way's more fun anyway." Kyoko leapt at the girl, using her spear to propel her into the air, whipping the chain around once more. Sayaka ducked underneath of the first length of chain again, leaning to the side and bringing her cutlass up to avoid the second and third. Kyoko sped up her strikes and it seemed that this time Sayaka would be overwhelmed. One or two more hits and Sayaka's guard would collapse. It was impossible to block and evade forever. And once that happened another strike would send her into the red.

And then Sayaka dropped to the ground. And she spun. Impossibly, before Kyoko's very eyes a whirlwind of air shot up. No, it was more than a whirlwind- it was a cyclone! Her spear segments were caught up in the blast of air and it was all she could do to maintain her hold on the weapon, attempting to resist the pull of the twister. Kyoko's eyes widened as the bluette darted forward, cutting deeply into her chest and sending her flying back. Sayaka kept up with the girl as she was knocked through the air, slashing once, then twice, bringing the redhead's aura down to dangerously low levels. Kyoko managed to bring her spear back together to block an incoming third blow which would have finished her as she backpedaled.

The two competitors faced off against each other. Their eyes met. Kyoko was breathless, in stark contrast to her opponent. Sayaka showed no signs of even being winded. There were no more friendly taunts and jibes. Their next exchange would determine the victor. The arena was breathless, and even the cheers and exclamations from the stands had fallen silent.

Kyoko gripped her spear tightly to her hand. She'd have to try something different if she wanted to beat this girl. There was a reason she had saved her trump card for so long. Unlike opponents she might meet at other schools or locations, at Beacon students were fast to adapt. She'd have to go in low an- Sayaka was taking initiative!

Everything seemed clear to Kyoko now. A plan formulated in her mind in one single instant. The way to win was surprisingly simple. Maybe her partner was rubbing off on her, because she didn't recall being this deceptive in combat. Rather than attack or attempt to parry, Kyoko instead stumbled backwards, fumbling with her weapon. A look of shock passed over her face. Sayaka noticed and pushed herself just a bit harder, just a bit faster. And behind those eyes Kyoko internalized a smile.

" _If there's one thing Mami's taught me, it's the value of feints!"_ Kyoko then allowed the grin to show, rapidly regaining control over her weapon and spinning it at a low diagonal. Sayaka's momentum and grip meant her weapon was too far away to block. The spear was too low to avoid. Simply put, it was Kyoko's win.

The spearhead reached Sayaka and slammed into her, finishing the girl and gaining Kyoko the win. Or that's what the redhead expected.

Instead Sayaka contorted herself, stretching a leg almost impossibly forward, dipping unimaginably low to the ground. As much as many of the other students would try to replicate the feat later, only Sayaka was nimble enough to pull it off without sprawling on her face. Kyoko's eyes widened in shock. Hastily she segmented the spear, using both of her wrists to attempt to bring part of the weapon, any part, down to strike the bluette. Then she felt the cold stroke of steel and the two fighters froze as Glynda called the match.

Kyoko couldn't believe it. She lost. To cutlass girl. The only special trick she really had was her whirlwind and speed. And whatever _that_ thing was at the end. And yet Kyoko had lost! How could she be so-

"That was one of the closest matches I've had to officiate in quite some time. However, by a margin of four tenths of one second according to my scroll, the victory goes to… Kyoko Sakura!"

"Huh." Kyoko said dumbly. She shook her head in disbelief.

Her eyes met those of her opponent, who still kneeling on the ground in front of her, shocked at the loss. They looked at each other for a second, each sizing up the other girl once more. Then Sayaka grinned, and Kyoko snorted. As one they decided to stop holding back, and let their laughter flow free. Kyoko extended a hand and Sayaka gladly took it.

"Man," Sayaka snickered. "We did pretty good out there, huh?"

"Not bad for our first match," Kyoko agreed. "You're pretty good, zombie girl. I've never seen somebody move like that."

"You're not so bad yourself." Sayaka returned the compliment. As the girls made their way back to the stands. "Don't think this means I'm going easy on you next time. That whirlwind is just the tip of the iceberg for what I'll have in store!"

Sayaka stopped. "Wait, zombie girl? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, it might be referring to the fact that you never seem to tire. No matter how many times I knocked you down, you got right back up light nothing had happened. Only thing I know of that does that is zombies."

"Haha, that's exactly what I'm hoping it looks like. At first I thought my semblance was totally lame but I've come to realize it's not so bad after all. I'm pretty much always at the top of my game in a fight. The longer it lasts the better it is for me. And on top of that I can regenerate any damage from bleed through, though it costs a little aura." Sayaka said proudly.

" _It's your semblance, huh? Must be nice… I wonder if i'll ever find mine."_ Kyoko thought as they made their way back to the stands.

* * *

Homura's sickness had passed. The thought of having to battle today all but terrified the girl. Almost everyone here would be stronger than her, and it wasn't like she enjoyed fighting… not like Kyoko had. Kyoko had been really into her battle. The smile on her face, the taunting. Homura hadn't been surprised at the words coming out of Kyoko's mouth. Though she hadn't shown any hostility towards Homura or the rest of their team, the provocation seemed almost natural coming from the redhead. What was surprising was how well the two girls had bonded after- and apparently during the match.

Homura never had a relationship defined by competitiveness and rivalry. Looking at Kyoko and Sayaka as they returned to the stands, laughing with one another, she wasn't sure how to feel about that. She glanced at Madoka again, who was chatting animatedly with Mami about the outcome of Kyoko's match. The pinkette's eyes glistened with admiration and Homura felt her cheeks tinge once again.

"... I had no idea Kyoko was so talented with her spear!" Madoka gushed. "Maybe Homura and I should join you two with your extra morning trainings. What do you think, Homura?"

"Uh, I-I-" Madoka really did have a way of flustering the girl. Caught staring, all Homura could do was stutter and blush.

"Yes!" Homura forced out a hasty nod

"Before we can move forward, is there anyone with family in the settlement of Fellington present?" Professor Goodwitch's voice cut through the din, directing attention away from Homura. "Good. A general evacuation order has been issued for the settlement due to increased Grimm sightings in the area. If anyone has close family in the area you should come see me immediately, and we will do our best to get you into contact with them."

"Dove Bronzewing and Nora Valkyrie, you will be facing each other next. Please step down and take your places."

"Woohooo!" A single cheer sounded out. Homura watched a hyperactive looking orange haired girl launched herself from the stands, clearing two rows of seatings and landing with a roll. A brown haired boy dropped into the arena and readied himself across from her after they shook hands.

This battle was much shorter than the previous one had been. From the start the match seemed to favor Dove, whose immediately raised his sword and pointed it directly at the girl. Looking closely the girls could see a revolver mechanism at the base of his blade. A barrel in the hilt of his blade opened bullets sped towards the Valkyrie girl. She rolled to the side with a yelp, but peculiarly didn't seem too worried, as far as Homura could tell.

Nora evaded a few more bullets, getting close and closer to dove with each step. The man flipped his sword, caught the handle, and jumped in, slashing at Nora, who darted back. Nora then launched a sudden and ferocious offensive which forced Dove into a much more defensive strategy. He did his best to evade the dangerous sweeps and slams of Nora's hammer, which she swung at considerable speed. Rolling to the side, jumping over or ducking under blows, and sliding around he barely stayed out of reach of Nora's weapon.

He managed to land a few light cuts and blows, though was unable to commit to anything heavier due to the threat posed by her weapon. After one exchange left their weapons locked together Dove brought a leg up and kicked her in the chest, forcing her back and away to gain some space. He raised his weapon, obviously intending to employ more ranged tactics against the girl.

Nora casually swung her hammer behind her tossing it into the air, smiling widely. Even Dove took pause at that. She caught it easily and slung it forward, the hammer morphing as she moved. Homura's eyes widened as it transformed into a full on grenade launcher. Nora grinned madly and fired even as Dove tried to stop her with bullets of his own. Detonations in midair disintegrated the incoming bullets and slammed into Dove, knocking him off his feet and then up into the air. Nora darted forward as he flew, the charge seeming more ursine than human. She leapt up into the air and transformed the hammer as she went. She twisted, bringing the back of the hammer up and then firing a blast out of the head of the weapon as she spun. The added momentum made for a savage hit. The hammer struck the boy, instantly plowing him down to the ground. His aura dropped well into the red, and he made no effort to get back up immediately. Homura's eyes were nearly bulging out of their sockets now. Nora landed shortly after, beaming as widely as she had been at the beginning of the fight.

These were the people she was attending school with? That she would have to fight side by side with? Support in battle? Face in battle? Suddenly the prospect of ending up against Nora, or even Dove (whose swordsmanship and evasive skills were well above average) brought the fear she'd felt earlier back, and magnified it by ten. She wasn't just a little behind- she was completely outclassed. Thankfully, mercifully, she wouldn't have to fight today. There was only one more battle left, and somebody from their team had already battled. There would be nothing else for her to do but watch this next battle.

The thoughts didn't do much to slow her heartbeat, which had increased rapidly at the mere notion of battle, but at least it was the truth. She could calm down later. She wouldn't have to fight, that was enough for now.

"...and Homura Akemi!" Homura froze. Her train of thought was completely derailed. It shattered violently, exploding in the background. Suddenly she was looking at her feet. The world seemed to spin. What was going on? Why did she have to fight? Why was she the one being forced to do this? This wasn't fair, it was-

"Homura." Madoka? Homura stop reeling at the feeling of the hand on her shoulder. She looked up and purple eyes met pink. Madoka smiled brightly and Homura's world stopped.

"It'll be okay." That smile. Even the tiniest bit of faith from the girl could put a blush on Homura's cheeks. The smallest ounce of trust would've been enough. "Whether you win or lose, as long you're with us, it'll be fine."

"C'mon shortstuff, you really think we're gonna look down on you for somethin' as stupid as whether you win or lose?" Kyoko grinned.

"Kyoko's right, Homura. It doesn't matter if you win or lose. It doesn't even matter if you're all that skilled. Just try your best for now and we'll go from there." Mami grinned as well. "Trust in your senpai, they always know what's best.

Homura took in all the supportive faces around her. She gulped once, and then nodded. She leapt down into the ring and crossed the distance to her opponent. The girl who had decapitated the Nevermore. Of course this would be her opponent... What could she do against a girl like this?

"Go Homura!"

"Good luck!" Mami called cheerfully.

Similar shouts could be heard from Team RWBY.

Absolutely nothing was her answer. But with those voices cheering her on she had to move forward. What else could she do? Stifling the shaking in her arms she extended a hand forward to meet that of her opponent. The dark haired girl across from her was smiling just as widely as Madoka was.

"Good luck." Ruby said. Homura nodded in response and tried to smile. Considering her nerves she could only hope it resembled one. the two returned to the starting position.

Homura summoned her shield, causing her opponent's eyes to widen. Murmuring went through the crowd. There were very few semblances that were specific enough to give people a weapon directly. The crowd probably assumed that this was close to the extent of her semblance.

They might as well have been right, for how well Homura could control the rest of it.

* * *

Ruby Rose observed her opponent warily. She seemed to be nervous at the very least. But Ruby herself had butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't the most perceptive person when it came to noticing social cues and expressions, yet she didn't need to be to understand the girl in front of her.

Though she didn't know what to make of that. Nervousness didn't mean that the girl across from her wasn't strong. She could be powerful, just not used to fighting others. After all, you didn't make it into Beacon without being strong, right? The more Ruby thought about it the more it made sense. There was no way this girl was weak. She could summon a shield. And if her time at Signal had taught her anything it was that your opponents always had some sort of trick up their sleeve.

Even if she had been weak, going easy on her for something like that wouldn't have been a good idea either. Ruby hadn't always been a master scythe wielder. When she wasn't, her classmates back at Signal had tried to go easy on her in the mock battles. Strictly practice bouts were one thing. But a sanctioned combat practice duel in front of most of this year's class? Ruby never asked anybody to go easy on her during those. It had been mortifying at the time.

Even so, that didn't matter. Because there was no way Homura was weak. To get caught by that trick, Yang would never live it down. Besides, she had to show Weiss that she was a competent leader. Looking bad here would have bee-

"You may begin." With that, Ruby was off. She swept her scythe down and back behind her, rocketing off in an instant, propelled by both a burst from her semblance and a power slug out the back of her scythe's head. She flew through the air, covering the distance between the two girls in an instant.

Bouts against Yang had taught her the folly in landing directly on her opponent. Instead, she landed just in front of her as she was shoving her hand… _into_ her shield? Ruby swept her scythe forward, not willing to find out what was coming out of the shield. Homura stumbled backwards, falling over just as the scythe swept into the air where her chest had just been. Homura rolled, yanking a hand out of her shield. In it she firmly grasped a golf club.

A golf club. Anything could have come out of the shield. A gun, a sword, a bomb. And a golf club came out? There was no way Ruby would fall for that. No matter what happened she had to get that club away from Homura. This girl was probably some crazy form of dangerous! She sprang forward rocketing directly towards her target. She slashed diagonally at the girl, then swept from the left, rotating, bringing the scythe back down while spinning in midair. Each time Homura stumbled, ducked, or outright threw herself away from the swings, avoiding them by a hair. As Ruby was recovering from the momentum of her last attack Homura seemed to find some courage. The girl gripped her club and darted into Ruby's reach, swinging the club widely towards her face. Ruby quickly hopped back, both evading the club and bringing her scythe around as she did so, cleaving through the club mid swing and then catching Homura in the side. Rather than follow through on the swing she rotated in the other direction, and slammed into Homura before the timid girl could hit the ground, knocking her into the air. Refusing to let up she flipped her scythe around, aiming the head of the weapon directly at Homura's body as it flew away from her. She fired twice. Both found their mark. Homura went limp, crashing to the ground in an unresponsive heap.

Ruby stared at the body warily, before looking to the scoreboard. Homura's gauge was already in the red while Ruby's didn't even have a scratch.

"As Homura is no longer able to continue, the winner is Ruby Rose." Professor Goodwitch stated. The professor gazed at Ruby for a moment before nodding respectfully and moving to check on the downed girl.

"Homura!" Ruby's heart sank as a pink haired girl leapt from the stands and ran over to the fallen girl. A blonde girl and a redhead followed right behind her, worried looks adorning their faces as well.

"I…" Ruby stepped towards them, wanting to apologize. She stopped, not knowing what to say. What could she say? Why did she even feel like apologizing anyway? She wasn't even trying to be 't this normal in fights? Forcing your opponent into unconsciousness wasn't exactly rare at Signal. Besides, you weren't supposed to hold back just because you felt bad. If you won by a landslide that was a good thing, right?

"Nice job Ruby! My little sister won her first practice match!" She was back up at the stands now. Her older sister pulled her into a headlock and rubbed her head.

"It wasn't the best performance I've ever seen, but you did pretty good out there." Weiss smiled, showing she hadn't meant the comment offensively. "I'm impressed."

"You didn't even work up a sweat." Blake commented neutrally.

"I just tried my best." Ruby tried to smile.

 _"So why do I feel so bad?"_

* * *

 **Author's note:** For those unaware, Sayaka's ability is rapid regeneration of the body in Puella Magi Madoka Magica. She does run out of breath and need to recover in the anime from heavier hits in the anime, though that time is drastically reduced compared to everyone else. However with aura protecting her body the usefulness of Sayaka's ability is limited. So I gave her a little buff. At the cost of some aura she will constantly be at full strength no matter what point in the battle she's at. As for her whirlwind attack, it comes from the PS Vita Battle Pentagram game.

Please read and review. Tell me things you like, things you didn't. Things that worked, and things you hated. Anything feedback is appreciated, and really helps me out.

Thanks for reading!


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